Drunk Colchester lorry driver caused major A14 crash

Lukasz Wojciechowski, 44, was driving on the A14 at Rougham when he collided with the central reservation at 7.10am last Friday. The outside lanes in both directions were closed before the eastbound carriageway was later fully shut at about 9am so the lorry could be taken from the scene. The closure remained in place until around 1pm, when the road partially reopened while National Highways repaired damage to the central reservation.

A number of drivers were witnessed by officers filming the scene of the collision as they drove past and will receive fixed penalty notices, Suffolk Police said. Wojciechowski failed a roadside breath test and was arrested at the scene before being taken to Bury St Edmunds police investigation centre. A breath test found he had 46 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, over the legal limit of 35mcg per 100ml.

PC Terry Harvey, of the commercial vehicle unit, said: "We have dealt with all manner of reckless driving in our roles as commercial vehicle unit officers and this ranks up there with the worst. "To drive a heavy goods vehicle whilst over the drink-drive limit is inexcusable. "You are in charge of a machine that could cause huge destruction, as witnessed in this case with the flattening of the central reservation barriers.

"It is extremely fortunate that no other vehicles were hit, as the consequences could have been devastating. "We engage with lorry drivers on a near daily basis and the vast majority are law-abiding and will be as shocked as us by this incident. "The collision caused hours of delays for other motorists on what is the main artery through our county, all because of one individual's selfish behaviour.

"The consequences for Mr Wojciechowski are that he has now lost his livelihood along with his driving licence - no doubt he is now seriously regretting his actions on that morning. "I would also like to take this opportunity to warn motorists about filming or photographing collision scenes when driving past. "This is also an offence and can lead to further collisions and those whose details we recorded can also expect to receive enforcement action."

Wojciechowski, of Clarendon Way, Colchester, was banned from driving for 16 months and fined ?1,666.

He was also ordered to pay a ?666 victim surcharge and costs of ?80.