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Merson 'lucky to be alive' after motorway crash

ESPN staff
October 13, 2011
Paul Merson: "I fell asleep and just hit the central reservation" © PA Photos
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Paul Merson has admitted he is "lucky to have survived" after he "fell asleep" at the wheel of his car and crashed into the central reservation of the M40 - with reports suggesting he failed a subsequent breath test.

Former Arsenal star Merson, who now works as a pundit for Sky Sports, was on his way to his Birmingham home from a Children In Need gala event in London when his car veered into the central reservation before striking a lorry. The Mercedes has been described as a write-off following the crash in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

He was taken away in an ambulance after being given a breath test on the hard shoulder of the motorway and emerged from hospital to admit he was extremely lucky.

"I fell asleep and just hit the central reservation," Merson is quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror. "I banged my head on the windscreen and the car is a write-off. I'm very lucky to have survived.

"I managed to get out by myself and the emergency services were brilliant."

A police spokeswoman told the Daily Mirror: "We received a report of an accident on the M40 northbound between J14 and 15 at 3.12am this morning involving a black Mercedes ML350 and a lorry.

"Following a roadside breath test, the 43-year-old male driver of the Mercedes was arrested on suspicion of driving with excess alcohol.

"He was taken to Warwick Hospital for treatment to a cut to the head. A blood sample was taken for analysis."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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