Telford death crash lorry driver saw no warning of hazard ahead, court told
A Telford lorry driver accused of causing the death of a car passenger in a horror crash told a jury he saw nothing to warn him of the hazard ahead.
Anthony Cheshire, 63, of Reynards Coppice, Sutton Hill, had to break off giving evidence on Tuesday after becoming unwell and the case was adjourned.
But doctors confirmed he would be fit to return to the Chelmsford Crown Court witness box yesterday and continue with his evidence.
He is accused of causing the death of mother of one Laura Cooper, 35, by dangerous or careless driving.
His Scania articulated lorry collided with the rear of a stationary Nissan Note on the clockwise M25 between junctions 26 and 27 in the early hours of March 29, 2016.
Rear seat passenger Ms Cooper, of Leicester, died later from her injuries.
Car driver Tammy Langton, 32, of south east London – Ms Cooper’s cousin – is also accused of causing her death because she is alleged to have known she had insufficient fuel to complete her journey from Leicester to London.
The case so far:
Describing his recollection of the crash, Cheshire told the jury he saw lights in front and thought it was a truck.
“I know now there were cars between the Nissan and me and that what I saw was a cluster of lights,” he said.
But he agreed that when he saw M25 CCTV footage four months later he realised his recollection was incorrect.
Cheshire said that on approaching the lights he began his overtaking process of checking all mirrors and looking over his shoulder. Something made him think the vehicle in front was moving and he stopped that process and then began it again.
But he said that as he turned his head back from looking over his right shoulder he saw the roof of the car for the first time – just as he hit it.
He said: “On the approach there was nothing at all to give me any thought of a hazard. I didn’t see any braking lighting.”
The trial continues
