Fatal M1 crash caused by high speed race, witnesses claim It is thought one of the BMW cars clipped the central reservation of the motorway before bouncing off a bridge and into the path of following vehicle. Police confirmed that the two men who died were aged 22 and 24 and were from the East London area. Motorist Basit Nasir, who was travelling on the motorway at the time of the accident told the Evening Standard newspaper: "It was total mayhem. There was mangled metal everywhere. It was foolish of them to drive at this sort of speed. It was raining as well. Mr Nasir claimed that four men who pulled up at the scene began brawling with some of the survivors of the smash. He said: "They all jumped out and everybody started punching each other. They said "what have you done? You have killed them."" Four fire engines and six ambulances were sent to the scene to deal with the accident. Two men who were travelling in the lead BMW were pronounced dead at the scene, while their two passengers were taken to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington with serious injuries. Two of the four passengers in the following vehicle were less seriously injured and were transferred to Watford General Hospital. The northbound carriageway of the motorway reopened later in the morning, but the southbound carriageway was expected to remain closed for sometime. Hertfordshire Police said a 25-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the accident. They have appealed for witnesses to the crash or the events that led up to it to contact them.