Five hospitalised, including two children, after 15-car pile up on motorway
Emergency services shut the northbound carriageway for several hours before the motorway reopened in the early hours of Monday
Five people, including two children, have been taken to hospital after a 15-vehicle crash forced a major motorway to close in Scotland overnight.
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The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service sent three fire engines and a heavy rescue unit to the 15-car pile up.
Three other people were treated at the roadside and did not need to go to hospital.
Emergency crews were called to the M73 just before 23:30 on Sunday, with the northbound carriageway shut between Junction 2 at Baillieston Interchange and Junction 2A at Gartcosh Interchange.
A spokesperson from the Scottish Ambulance Service told Sky News: "We received a call at 11.21pm on Sunday 15 March to attend a multi-vehicle road traffic collision on the M73 at Junction 2A.
"We dispatched six ambulances and two special operations response teams (SORT) to the scene.
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❗ UPDATE ⌚02:57#M73 Junction 2 incident#M73 Junction 2 is ⛔ CLOSED ⛔Northbound due to an ongoing road traffic incident.
— Traffic Scotland (@trafficscotland) March 16, 2026
Please use an alternative route and allow extra travel time.#PlanAhead@SWTrunkRoads pic.twitter.com/MNDuGQAqb8
"We transported two patients to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, two patients to the Royal Hospital for Children, and one patient to Glasgow Royal Infirmary."
Amey SW Trunk Roads described the incident as a “15 vehicle RTC” and urged drivers to steer clear of the area.
The vehicles had been recovered by around 03:00 on Monday, before police requested a road sweeper to clear debris.
Traffic Scotland later said the motorway had reopened shortly before 04:00.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Around 10.50pm on Sunday, 15 March, 2026, we were called to a report of a crash involving 12 vehicles on the M73 at Gartcosh.
"Emergency services attended and the road was closed."Five people were taken to hospital be ambulance as a precaution.
"Recovery was arranged and the road reopened around 3.30am.
"There is no further police action."