A 22-YEAR-OLD man who died after a serious crash on the A74(M) has been named by police.

Police Scotland have confirmed that Craig McLaren, a serving soldier from Eastriggs, near Annan was killed in a car crash on Wednesday night, on the southbound carriageway near Ecclefechan.

The crash involved a Ford Fiesta car. Mr McLaren was pronounced dead at the scene.

A spokesman from Police Scotland said: “An 18-year-old male passenger was taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

“Two female passengers, aged 16 and 19-years-old, were taken to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary with what are described as serious, but non-life threatening injuries.”

The road was closed for several hours to allow a full road collision examination to take place by police.

Two people were also killed in a separate serious crash this morning, which occurred on the northbound carriageway of the A74(M) between junctions 20 and 21 at about 6.15am.

The crash involved a van and a lorry.

A 57-year-old man and a 17-year-old male passenger were both pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the lorry was uninjured.

The road reopened at 1pm.