Three people were killed and more than 60 others were injured in the crash, which happened in dense fog during the early morning rush hour.
The ensuing pile-up involved 160 vehicles on a 400-yard (370 m) stretch of the motorway, including 30 on the opposite carriageway 20 minutes later.
A police car was also involved in the pile-up; one firefighter responding to the crash criticised other motorists for overtaking his fire engine in excess of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) in the dense fog.
[2] Lisa Dodson, a 21-year-old student from Chaddesley Corbett, was the driver of the car, a Peugeot 205, struck by the tanker and she died from asphyxiation.
Malcolm MacDonald, 53 and from Redditch, and 63-year-old Margaret Vining, from Gloucester, suffered fatal injuries in the pile-up.