Family outraged at lorry driver’s ‘measly sentence’ for M25 crash that killed four

The family of a woman who was one of four victims in a horrific M25 crash, where a lorry rammed into the rear of a minibus, have expressed their outrage at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), claiming it has made a “mockery” of her life following the truck driver’s “measly” three-year prison sentence^[1].

Jennifer Smith, 59, along with three other passengers, died when Ethan Burdett, 67, from Ipswich^[2], crashed his lorry into the back of a minibus carrying 10 passengers on the M25 in August 2021.

Nicola Elliott, 42, and Deborah Douglas, 48, Jennifer’s daughter and sister, said that Burdett was initially charged with four counts of death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury after the crash. Under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, these charges can carry a life sentence.