Sleeping lorry driver jailed for fatal crash near Southampton

A lorry driver who fell asleep at the wheel and caused a crash that killed a man has been jailed.

Stefan-Alexandru Bloj, 34, from Portsmouth, crashed into the back of a van on the M271 near Southampton in November 2020.

He was handed a four-year jail sentence at Southampton Crown Court for causing death by dangerous driving.

The court heard Bloj did not slow down as he approached the Redbridge roundabout and killed 64-year-old David Sullivan.

Det Sgt Cate Paling, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: “Bloj drove lorries for a living and knew the dangers of not taking designated sleep breaks.

“His selfish decision to instead use this time to watch videos on his phone meant he was completely unfit to drive through tiredness, endangering the lives of other drivers as well as his own.”

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