Brush with death video as drug-drive trucker leaves Brummies inches from death
This was the horrific moment a 44-tonne lorry with a drug-drive trucker at the wheel jackknifed into the path of an oncoming Mercedes – leaving two Brummies inches from death. One of the casualties suffered serious injuries, had to be airlifted to hospital and said he thought he would be killed.
The shocking video showed the HGV veer off the road to the right as a Mercedes GL320, which was towing a trailer, was unable to avoid the head-on collision on the A47 at Guyhirn, Cambridgeshire, on January 3. Police said it was a “miracle” no-one[1] died.
Trucker Anthony Campbell, 55, had used cannabis and was still almost double the drug-drive limit five hours after the crash. He was jailed for two years after admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving and banned from driving for four years.
The Mercedes passenger, 38, needed surgery after he was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. The Mercedes driver, 33, escaped with minor injuries.
Anthony Campbell and the smashed Mercedes (Image: Cambridgeshire Police)
In a victim personal statement, the passenger said: “When I was trapped in the car at the scene of the crash, I thought I was going to die. After my release from hospital I remember seeing lorries diving on the roads and I was shouting ‘slow down’ and grabbing hold of the handles in the car. This was the first time it hit me how scared I was following the accident.
“I can’t believe someone would be so stupid as to drive a 44 tonne lorry with drugs in their system. The whole incident has left me sad, upset and angry. What he did that day could have easily killed us.”
Speaking after the case, Pc Boris Kahn, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “Campbell displayed unbelievable recklessness and ignorance in getting behind the wheel after smoking cannabis. It is nothing short of a miracle that the driver and the passenger in the Mercedes are still here today.
“While they continue to recover from their injuries, I hope the victims feel a sense of justice and closure following this sentence. Anyone who drives after taking illegal drugs is putting people’s lives at risk and it is completely unacceptable.” Anyone with concerns about someone’s drug taking can report it to police online[3] or call the dedicated drink and drug drive hotline on 0800 032 0845.
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References
- ^ Police said it was a “miracle” no-one (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ ‘Miracle’ escape for two Brummies after cannabis trucker causes horrific crash (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ police online (www.cambs.police.uk)
- ^ Birmingham News (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ Email Updates (www.birminghammail.co.uk)