The investigation into the cause of one of the worst crashes on Britain’s motorway network in recent memory could continue into the New Year.
While an official view regarding what caused the fatal collision will take some time to emerge there are currently three broad theories.
The first is that a firework display at a rugby club, near where the incident happened, may have distracted drivers.
Avon and Somerset Police is looking at the potential impact any aspect of the event might have had on the collision.
A club official claimed yesterday display it put on finished at 8.15pm, before the accident happened.
A second theory is a car joined the motorway at speed and immediately veered into the path of a lorry, forcing the driver to take evasive action by changing lanes, causing a cascade of similar actions by other drivers close by.
Marie (26) from Taunton, who preferred not to give her full name, said: “There is a lot of speculation on the internet about how it all started.
“On Facebook, friends have written about a small car joining the motorway at junction 25 and causing the accident. Driving too fast instead of giving way, as you should. Who can say if it’s true?”
The third theory is that a large animal, possibly a deer, suddenly appeared on the motorway causing chaos.
This appears to stem from images of a mound covered by a sheet seen on the motorway close to where accident investigators were working yesterday.
A suggestion put forward, and not denied by police when asked, was that it covered the dead corpse of a large animal.
Eyewitness accounts of the horrific smash have also described a thick wall of fog which suddenly appeared at the collision point.
PA