Mother and three children die in crash on A40 near Oxford and husband and toddler critically injured

ITV News Correspondent Ben Chapman reports from Chinnor

A mother and three of her children have died after their car crashed with a lorry on the A40 near Oxford on Monday night.

ITV News understands 29-year-old Zoe Powell, her daughters, eight-year-old Phoebe and four-year-old Amelia, and six-year-old son Simeon all died in the crash.

Ms Powell's 30-year-old husband Joshua and 18-month-old daughter are in hospital in a critical condition.

Thames Valley Police said officers were called at 9.50pm to reports of the collision between a silver Subaru and the HGV near to the railway bridge just west of Oxford.

The family were from Chinnor, in Oxfordshire, where all three children who died in the crash attended the village school.

The HGV driver, a 56-year-old man, suffered minor injuries.

Senior investigating officer Sergeant Dominic Mahon, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit based at Bicester, said the crash was an “absolute tragedy”.

He said: “We are in the very early stages of our investigation into this incredibly tragic incident that has resulted in the deaths of four people from the same family.

“I would appeal to anybody who was driving in the area at the time of the collision and witnessed what happened to please contact 101, or make a report online, quoting reference number 43200321914.

“I would also urge anybody who has dash-cam footage of the incident or either of the vehicles just prior to the incident to please not share this publicly, but contact police with this detail.

“I would ask the public and media to please not speculate as to the cause of this horrendous incident. We will leave no stone unturned to ascertain what has caused this tragedy.

“The next of kin of the family have been made aware and are being supported by specially trained family liaison officers.