Ex-RAF pilot who killed family as he drove wrong way down M6 to take own life pictured

An who took his own life and killed four others when he deliberately drove and crashed into head-on traffic on a motorway has been pictured for the first time. Richard John Woods, 40, was almost four times the legal drink-drive limit at the time of the fatal crash on October 15 last year, an inquest heard.

Four members of a family, including two children, died in the collision on the in Cumbria. Mr Woods was driving a blue Skoda Fabia when he went the wrong way down the motorway and ploughed into a Toyota Yaris on the northbound carriageway shortly after 4pm. The victims were named as dad Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, his partner Jade McEnroe, 33, and two children Filip, 15, and Dominic, 7.

Jade's seven-year-old son Arran survived the tragedy despite suffering serious injuries. The family were believed to have been travelling back from Legoland when the fatal accident occurred.

Last week, Cockermouth Coroners' Court heard that Mr Woods was four times over the legal drink-drive limit and had a near-empty gin bottle in his car. If he survived the crash, he would have been charged with manslaughter.

Detective Sergeant Deborah said: "My assessment of all of the evidence was that Mr Woods deliberately caused the collision. Had Mr Woods survived, regardless of any injuries, I would have sought four charges of manslaughter."

Mr Woods was born in Hexham but lived in Cambridgeshire. The inquest heard how he was a keen piano and trumpet player in his younger years, performing for the Queen in Newcastle. He later became a flight lieutenant and then squadron leader as a fast jet pilot.

During his RAF career, he toured Afghanistan twice and completed three tours of Iraq before leaving the force in 2019. The inquest heard how he received professional help for alcohol abuse, as well as a history of anxiety.

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