HGV driver is jailed for killing two men in crash on M1 smart motorway
‘Hard shoulders are like lifeboats on ships’: Judge says two men killed when lorry ploughed into stranded car on M1 Smart Motorway would still be alive if there had been a hard shoulder as he jailed HGV driver for 10 months
- Jason Mercer, 44, and Alexandru Murgeanu, 22, died in smash on June 7 last year
- The men died when lorry ploughed into stationary vehicles on M1 near Sheffield
- Prezemyslaw Zbigniew Szuba, 40, was jailed today at Sheffield Crown Court
- The driver admitted causing death by driving without due care and attention
- Judge Jeremy Richardson compares motorway hard shoulders to ship lifeboats
A judge who today sentenced the driver of an 18-tonne lorry to 10 months in jail for causing the deaths of two men in a collision on a stretch of the M1 smart motorway said the victims would still be alive if there had been a hard shoulder.
Jason Mercer, 44, and Alexandru Murgeanu, 22, died when a lorry ploughed into their stationary vehicles near Sheffield after they were involved in a ‘minor shunt’.
Prezemyslaw Zbigniew Szuba, 40, admitted two counts of causing death by driving without due care and attention over the 56mph crash which happened in June 2019.
But Mr Mercer’s widow Claire today blamed highways chiefs for her husband’s death after previously saying that that the trucker should have been spared jail.
Judge Jeremy Richardson QC told Sheffield Crown Court that motorway hard shoulders are like lifeboats on ships, adding: ‘One never hopes ever to use them, and most of the time you never do. But they’re there.’
He said it was not his role to conduct a public inquiry into the controversial highways, but added: ‘I am not conducting a public enquiry into the advantages or disadvantages of smart motorways.
‘It appears this form of highway is controversial and has been the subject of criticism.
‘The hard-shoulder used to be the norm on all British motorways. It served an extremely useful purpose; and provided reassurance to all drivers on a fast-moving highway.
‘All drivers hoped they never needed to use it, but it was there in case of emergency to allow a vehicle to pull to the side to deal with the problem and seek help.
‘Had there been a hard shoulder or had the victims driven on for another mile to the refuge this catastrophe would never have occurred.’
Prezemyslaw Zbigniew Szuba, 40, admitted two counts of causing death by driving without due care and attention over the incident near Sheffield on June 7 last year
Jason Mercer (left), 44, and Alexandru Murgeanu (right), 22, died when a lorry ploughed into their stationary vehicles on the M1 near Sheffield on June 7 last year
Today, Mrs Mercer said she did not believe ‘the correct person is taking responsibility’ over the deaths of the two men who had pulled over on a stretch of motorway with no hard shoulder.
The victims had pulled into the slow lane, where a hard shoulder is on a regular motorway, and exited their vehicles in order to exchange details after the collision.
Mrs Mercer said her husband would not have died had there been a hard shoulder for them to pull into.
She added: ‘We don’t believe the correct person is taking responsibility for this massive detrimental effect on ours and so many other people’s lives.
‘The events of June 7 would not have taken place if there had been a hard shoulder and Highways England was run with the correct priorities in mind, not concentrating on who wins the next big contract.
‘My hope in this devastation is that no more lives are ruined needlessly.’
Referring to a national review of smart motorways, she said: ‘An agenda genuinely concerned with avoiding future deaths is not served by a pretend review and 18 compromises that wouldn’t have saved any of 40-plus people killed by smart motorways, or by jailing the wrong person.’
Since her husband’s death Mrs Mercer has set up a campaign group called Smart Motorways Kill.
She said the group has four different legal actions in process and that they ‘won’t stop until smart motorways are banned’.
There are currently more than 20 sections of ‘smart motorways’ on seven different motorways
Widow Claire Mercer (second left) reads a statement outside Sheffield Crown Court this afternoon after Szuba was jailed for causing the death of her husband and another man
Mrs Mercer had previously said she would use her victim personal statement to the crown court to argue that the trucker should be spared jail.
Sheffield Crown Court heard today that the collision happened on the northbound carriageway of the M1 smart motorway, between junctions 34 and 35, on June 7 last year at about 8.15am.
What are the three types of ‘smart’ motorways and how do they work?
All lane running schemes permanently remove the hard shoulder and convert it into a running lane.
On these types of motorway, lane one (formerly the hard shoulder) is only closed to traffic in the event of an incident.
In this case a lane closure will be signalled by a red X on the gantry above, meaning you must exit the lane as soon as possible.
All running lane motorways also have overhead gantry signs that display the mandatory speed limit.
Should drivers break down or be involved in an accident there are emergency refuge areas at the side of the carriageway for them to use.
Controlled motorways have three or more lanes with variable speed limits, but retains a hard shoulder. The hard shoulder should only be used in a genuine emergency.
These variable speed limits are displayed on overhead gantry signs – if no speed limit is displayed the national speed limit is in place. Speed cameras are used to enforce these.
‘Dynamic’ hard shoulder running involves open the hard shoulder as a running lane to traffic at busy periods to ease congestion.
On these stretches a solid white line differentiates the hard shoulder from the normal carriageway. Overhead signs on gantries indicate whether or not the hard shoulder is open to traffic.
The hard shoulder must not be used if the signs over it are blank or display a red X, except in the case of an emergency.
A red X on the gantry above means you must exit the lane as soon as possible.
Overhead gantries on these types of motorway also display the mandatory speed limit which varies depending on the traffic conditions. Speed cameras are used to enforce these – no speed limit displayed indicates the national speed limit is in place.
Source: RAC
At the time of the smash the pair, who died at the scene, were standing between Mr Murgeanu’s Ford Transit and Mr Mercer’s Ford Focus.
The court heard 147 vehicles passed the scene safely before father-of-one Szuba approached northbound.
Dashcam footage from the cab of his lorry played in court showed the driver slamming into the two stationary vehicles.
Prosecutor Jeremy Evans told the court that according to a crash investigator, Szuba would have had up to five seconds to take evasive action.
In motorway CCTV footage dozens of other vehicles could be seen slowing down and pulling into the right hand lane in order to get around the stationary vehicles.
Prosecutors said the lorry was not speeding and there was no suggestion that the defendant had been drinking or was on drugs.
The court heard there was a ‘safe refuge area’, an area motorists can pull into in case of emergency, located around a mile from where the victims stopped.
At the time of the fatal collision Mr Mercer and Mr Murgeanu had been standing on the carriageway for more than five minutes, Mr Evans said.
Appearing in the dock wearing a suit and tie today, Szuba, from Hull, was jailed for ten months after earlier admitting two counts of causing death by driving without due care and attention.
Sentencing, Jeremy Richardson QC said: ‘By your complete inattention to the road in front of you, two men, who were much loved by their families, have been killed.
‘It was careless driving on your part. I have no doubt whatever that you are the main component cause of the catastrophic crash which has given rise to these two charges.’
Speaking about smart motorways, the judge added: ‘I am not conducting a public enquiry into the advantages or disadvantages of smart motorways.
‘It appears this form of highway is controversial and has been the subject of criticism.
‘The hard-shoulder used to be the norm on all British motorways. It served an extremely useful purpose; and provided reassurance to all drivers on a fast-moving highway.
‘All drivers hoped they never needed to use it, but it was there in case of emergency to allow a vehicle to pull to the side to deal with the problem and seek help.
‘Had there been a hard shoulder or had the victims driven on for another mile to the refuge this catastrophe would never have occurred.’
Mrs Mercer’s impact statement also touched on the relationship she shared with her husband, from Rotherham.
She said: ‘The loss of Jason is immeasurable, Jason was an important and distinctive part of our family and I can’t list all the many things we lost when Jason died.
‘Even the best written epitaph would never adequately convey just how truly wonderful, multi- dimensional, loving, entertaining and strong Jason was.
‘I have lost the heart and physical ability to continue my career of nearly 30 years and have had to hand my notice in.
‘My health has been badly effected and I’m now on more than double the amount of medication, for double the number of illnesses, than when Jason was alive and I’m still having counselling nearly a year and a half later to help me cope day to day.
‘Jason’s death has affected all parts of every day, even down to the smallest details.
‘He looked after me in every sense of the word and rated his self-worth on his ability to provide love, support and stability for me and my family. I have never spent a night on my own before, and now I live on my own.’
Mr Murgeanu, of Mansfield, who was from Romania, was described as a ‘hard working ‘man who ‘enjoyed the company of his family and friends’.
Szuba was also banned from driving for four years and five months.
Mr Mercer’s wife Claire (pictured together) has mounted a prominent campaign against smart motorways, arguing that he would not have died if there had been a hard shoulder
Since her husband’s death Mrs Mercer has set up the campaign group Smart Motorways Kill
Previously, Nicola Hale, defending, said her client had only just joined the motorway at junction 34 and ‘it was only for a matter of seconds that the (stationary) vehicles were visible’.
She said the evidence in the case showed Szuba was driving ‘normally’ and well within the speed limit just before the crash.
Today, South Yorkshire Police serious collisions unit sergeant and investigating officer Mark Bradey said: ‘My thoughts are firstly with the family of both Jason and Alexandru, they have not only lost their loved ones but have had to re-live the tragedy during the court proceedings.
‘Szuba pleaded guilty to the charges, accepted responsibility and spared the families further distress by going through a trial process.
‘I hope today will bring some element of closure to Jason and Alexandru’s loved ones.’
