Horror moment HGV drug-driver nearly kills two as cops hail ‘miracle’ escape
Horrifying dashcam footage[1] shows the moment a drug-driver[2] at the wheel of a 44-tonne lorry came within inches of killing two people in an oncoming vehicle.
The lorry still struck the car[3] leaving one of the casualties with serious injuries, having to be airlifted to hospital[4] before later revealing he thought he was going to be killed. A dramatic video shows the lorry veer off the road onto the right with the Mercedes GL320, with a trailer attached behind, unable to avoid a head-on collision[5] on the A47 road at Guyhirn, Cambridgeshire[6] on January 3.
Police later claimed it was a “miracle” that no one died in the crash after the trucker, 55-year-old Anthony Campbell, was found to have used cannabis[7] and was still almost two times the drug-drive limit five hours after the crash. Campbell has been jailed[8] for two years after admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving, and was banned for four years from driving according to BirminghamLive[9].
UK city with worst drug driving problem revealed – how does your area rank?[10]
The two passengers were rescued from the vehicle with one airlifted to a nearby hospital (
Cambridgeshire Constabulary / SWNS)
The Mercedes passenger, 38, who was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital[11] in Cambridge needed surgery after the incident. The 33-year-old driver survived with just minor injuries.
In a victim personal statement, the passenger said: “When I was trapped in the car at the scene of the crash[12], 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.
Driver Anthony Campbell, 55, was jailed for two years (
Cambridgeshire Constabulary / SWNS)
“I can’t believe someone would be so stupid as to drive a 44 tonne lorry with drugs[13] 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[14] 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[15] are still here today.
The mangled state of the car shows the HGV driver was inches away from killing the pair (
Cambridgeshire Constabulary / SWNS)
“While they continue to recover from their injuries, I hope the victims feel a sense of justice and closure following this sentence[16]. 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 or call the dedicated drink and drug drive hotline on 0800 032 0845.
References
- ^ dashcam footage (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ drug-driver (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ struck the car (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ hospital (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ head-on collision (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Cambridgeshire (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ cannabis (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ jailed (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ BirminghamLive (www.birminghammail.co.uk)
- ^ UK city with worst drug driving problem revealed – how does your area rank? (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Hospital (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ crash (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ drugs (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Cambridgeshire (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Mercedes (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ sentence (www.mirror.co.uk)