Bereaved wife of man killed in Smart Motorway crash blames lack of hard shoulders for his death
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Sheffield Crown Court heard on October 19 how lorry driver Prezemyslaw Szuba admitted causing the death of two motorists by careless driving after he collided with their stationary vehicles in lane one of the M1 Smart Motorway between Junctions 34 and 35 near Meadowhall just after 8am, on June 7, 2019.
Szuba, aged 40, of Adelaide Street, Hull, went into the rear of a Ford Transit van which went into a Ford Focus which had both parked in lane one minutes before because they had been involved in a minor collision with each other.
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Hide AdContract manager Jason Mercer, aged 44, of Rotherham, had been driving the Ford Focus and delivery driver Alexandru Mergeanu, aged 22, of Mansfield, had been driving the Ford Transit van.
Jeremy Evans, prosecuting, said: “Both had received catastrophic and fatal injuries and upon the arrival of the emergency services both were pronounced dead at the scene.”
Mr Evans said the two vehicles had stopped 0.8miles away from a safety refuge when Szuba’s HGV, driving at 56mph, did not adjust speed or direction and collided with the rear of the van which collided with the Ford Focus as Mr Mercer and Mr Mergeanu were stood between the vehicles.
The court heard the Smart Motorway system did not issue warnings as motorists adjusted their driving or were forced to stop.
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Hide AdSzuba, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by careless driving and was sentenced to ten months of custody and banned from driving for four years.
Andrew Smith, defending, said: “On June 7, last year, three decent people went out to work for a normal working day and by 8.30am in the morning two of them were suddenly dead and the other was standing by the side of the road distraught.”
Mr Smith said Szuba is remorseful and has suffered sleepless nights.
He added: “The defendant’s culpability arises out of 3.7 seconds when, had he been keeping proper regard to the road in front of him, he would have realised there was an obstruction.”
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Hide AdMr Smith added those involved were victims of a wholly inadequate road system.
Judge Jeremy Richardson QC told Szuba: “By your complete inattention to the road in front of you two men who were much-loved by their families have been killed.”
However, he stated safety refuges every few miles instead of hard shoulders is less than adequate.
Following the hearing, Mr Mercer’s wife, Claire, said: “We don’t believe the correct person is taking responsible [responsibility] for this massive detrimental effect on ours and so many other people’s lives.
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Hide Ad"The events of June 7, 2019, would not have taken place if there had been a hard shoulder and Highways England was run with the correct priorities in mind.”
Mrs Mercer’s campaign group Smart Motorways Kill is pushing for a Judicial Review and considering a complaint of corporate manslaughter in its bid to ban Smart Motorways.
She added: “My hope in this devastation is that no more lives are ruined needlessly.”
Alexandru Mergeanu’s sister Andrea Mergeanu stated her brother is very much missed.