Passenger killed after sleepy van driver crashed into lorry in 91mph M40 smash

A sleepy van driver crashed into lorry on M40 at 91mph. The impact of the crash on the M40 near Warwick[1] led to Legard Swaby's passenger suffering catastrophic injuries.

The passenger died later in hospital, Warwickshire Police[2] confirmed. The force said that Swaby was driving from London to Birmingham when the crash happened.

The van he was driving careered into the back of a lorry at 91 miles per hour 'with no attempt to break or steer'. Warwickshire[3] Police said that the 41-year-old claimed he was trying to wake the passenger so he could take a turn at driving at the time of the collision.

@media screen and (max-width: 767.95px) { #_R_m1p56mhek5clubsnm6fbH1_ { display: flex; } iframe { max-width: 100vw; } }

Advertisement

Advertisement

#_R_161p56mhek5clubsnm6fbH1_ { display: none; }@media screen and (min-width: 768px) { #_R_161p56mhek5clubsnm6fbH1_ { display: flex; } iframe { max-width: 100vw; } }

In a statement, the force said that its enquiries showed the circumstances of the collision were consistent with fatigue.

PC Craig Pearson, who led the investigation, said: "Our investigation showed Swaby drove past four service stations where he could and probably should have stopped for a break.

"Had he taken the opportunity to take a break this tragedy may have been avoided."

References

  1. ^ Warwick (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
  2. ^ Warwickshire Police (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
  3. ^ Warwickshire (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
  4. ^ Ex-Warwickshire Police detective's work phone found with 714 explicit images and offensive jokes (www.coventrytelegraph.net)
  5. ^ Police want to speak to these two men after Warwickshire house raid (uk.news.yahoo.com)