Girl, 8, unable to walk or talk after lorry smashed into car on hard shoulder

24 October 2023 , 06:44

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The family-of-four's car was ploughed into after it pulled over onto the hard shoulder (Image: Warwickshire Police)

A lorry driver who left a little girl unable to walk or talk after hitting her family's car as it drove home from a holiday has been jailed.

Dominic Nicholls smashed into the back of the Nissan X-Trail after it had broken down and pulled into the hard shoulder on the M42 in Warwickshire in April last year. The 53-year-old has been locked up for 30 months. Two members of the child's family were also seriously injured in the crash.

PC Craig Pearson, of Warwickshire Police's serious collision investigation unit, said the lives of the Stafford family had been "devastated by what happened that day". The family were returning to Staffordshire from Heathrow Airport after a holiday in Sri Lanka at the time of the crash on the northbound carriageway at 11.56pm on April 28 2022, reports StokeonTrentLive.

A warning light had appeared on their car's dashboard and they pulled over between junctions eight and nine, near Kingsbury, to investigate the issue. In the vehicle was a family of four including the eight-year-old daughter and five-year-old son. Nicholls was about a minute behind and "for reasons unknown, the lorry drifted on to the hard shoulder at 55mph and collided with the rear of the X-Trail before the family had time to exit the vehicle".

The girl was taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital with life-threatening injuries. She survived, but will need life-long care, after being left unable to think, talk or walk again and will have to use a wheelchair. Her mother and father were also seriously hurt and their son sustained minor injuries.

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PC Pearson said Nicholls had "never provided an explanation" why his HGV travelled directly on to the hard shoulder. He added: "The dashcam footage from the HGV shows that Mr Nicholls makes no attempt to brake or take avoiding action prior to the collision, he said. This is a very sad and tragic case."

Nicholls, of Inkerman Terrace, Ipswich, pleaded guilty to three counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury at a previous hearing. At the sentencing hearing on October 19, Nicholls was also disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for seven years and will have to pass an extended test to drive again. He was also ordered to pay a £190 victim surcharge.

Speaking after the case, PC Pearson said "This is a very sad and tragic case. Mr Nicholls has never provided an explanation for why he allowed his HGV to travel directly onto the hard shoulder towards the family's X-Trail car, the overall responsibility for the speed and control of the vehicle must lay entirely within the hands of its driver – Dominic Nicholls. The dash cam footage from the HGV shows that Mr Nicholls makes no attempt to brake or take avoiding action prior to the collision."

"The standard of driving falls far below that expected of a careful and competent driver. We hope this sentence brings some comfort to the family whose lives have been devastated by what happened that day."

Hayley Parker