Pedestrian on M20 dies after being hit by lorry with motorway closed for 10 hours

A woman in her 20s has died after being hit by a lorry on the M20. Emergency services rushed to the coast-bound carriageway near junction 9 at Ashford shortly before 1pm yesterday (January 23) following a "serious collision".

Officers from Kent Police were joined by South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) paramedics. The motorway was subsequently shut in both directions between J8 for Maidstone and J10 for Ashford.

Diversion details were quickly announced as police advised the closure would be in effect “for a number of hours”. Though the west-bound carriageway re-opened at around 2.30pm, the coast-bound carriageway remained shut throughout the afternoon and well into the evening.

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Police have since confirmed a woman died at the scene. The M20 coast-bound re-opened between J8 and J9 shortly after 6pm yesterday, though the closure to J10 remained for several more hours. The carriageway was fully re-opened at around 11pm and residual delays cleared soon after.

A police spokesperson said: “Kent Police was called to a report of a collision involving a pedestrian and a lorry near J9 of the M20 coast-bound at Ashford shortly before 1pm on Thursday, January 23. Emergency services attended and the pedestrian was pronounced deceased at the scene.

"Formal identification has yet to take place but the family of a woman in her twenties have been informed. Officers are preparing a report for the coroner.”