Jail for triple death driver
Man who fell asleep at the wheel of his work van killing three colleagues is jailed for fourand-a-half years
AN Abercwmboi man who fell asleep behind the wheel of a work van and killed three of his colleagues has been jailed for more than four years.
Stephen Parry Jenkins claimed that one of the men had fallen onto him while he was driving and that had caused the van to career onto the hard shoulder and collide with a parked lorry near junction 17 of the westbound carriageway of the M4 motorway.
The 38-year-old driver was jailed for four-anda-half years for causing the deaths of his work colleagues James Stark and Steven Sheldon, both from Mountain Ash, and Martin Williams, from Trecynon near Aberdare, by dangerous driving on June 9, 2014.
A judge heard that since the triple fatal crash, Jenkins had turned to alcohol, sometimes drinking up to 30 cans of strong beer a day.
Reading from a victim impact statement, Tina Pople, the mother of victim 37-year-old Jamie Stark, said in court: “We had to make the heartbreaking decision to turn off our son’s life support machine.
“Since then, our lives have been torn apart. He made our family complete and there is a hole in our lives. Now none of our lives will be complete again.
“He leaves behind two daughters who have not been the same since the incident. Olivia has become very withdrawn and is not the happy girl she once was.”
Joanne Roberts, Mr Stark’s sister, said: “Since his death, my mum has found it hard to cope and is not able to get to see the two little girls who are the only thing she has left of her son.”
Mrs Griffith, the mother of 36-year-old Martin Williams, said: “Martin only ever wanted to give his son a better life. Not a day goes by that we don’t talk about him. He was a big lad – 19 stone – but he was a gentle giant.”
Further victim impact statements were read to the judge at Swindon Crown Court which revealed that 35-year-old Stephen Sheldon had only been back to work for a few days after spending three years unable to work because of illness, before the crash took his life.
Another man in the van at the time of the crash on June 9, Michael Evans, was not present in court but Hannah Squire, prosecuting, told the court that he had lost an eye and been “seriously injured” in the crash.
Ms Squire said: “The other person in the van at the time of the crash was Michael Evans, who was seriously injured and lost an eye in the crash. He has not worked since and has had a profound effect on him.
“Jenkins’ job was to drive his colleagues and their safety was critical. He was responsible for getting them to and from
work in a safe manner,” said the prosecutor.
Jeremy Jenkins, defending, told the judge: “In a case so emotive, no sentence can be adequate to compensate for the lives lost. Indeed, Mr Jenkins said that no sentence you give him will be greater than the one he has already given himself.
“At one stage, he was drinking up to 30 cans of strong beer a day and as a consequence some of his legal conferences had to be cancelled because he was incomprehensible.
“Not a day goes by that he doesn’t think of the three men.”
Jenkins, from Park View Terrace, Abercwmboi, dabbed his eyes as details of the crash were read to the court.
Judge Timothy Mousley said: “You caused the deaths of three men and the serious injury of a fourth.
“At 3.15am their work was complete and they were keen to get home to South Wales. At 4.30am you collided with a lorry parked on the hard shoulder on the westbound carriageway of the M4 by junction 17.
“You had fallen asleep behind the wheel because you had not made sure you were properly rested before setting off. You had a responsibility for the safety of the men. You had a duty to make sure you were fit to drive.
“These were family men and this will have an effect on the families for the rest of their lives.
“I accept you are remorseful but I am not sure to what extent you are. You have never had the courage to apologise to the family and friends and that would have helped them move on.
“You will serve fourand-a-half years concurrently for the three deaths and be disqualified from driving for four years and three months.
Responding to the sentencing, a family member of one of the men who died said: “I don’t feel any elation, I just feel flat, but now we can start the grieving process.
Ms Pople said: “All we wanted was for Jenkins to admit that he had caused their deaths. We just wanted an apology but what he has done instead has lied and lied.”
Joanne Roberts added: “It seems unfair, we have had to listen to him lie and lie, he wasn’t a friend to the men.”
Sergeant Barrie Card, from Wiltshire Police, said: “This was a tragic in- cident for all involved; for those who died, the family of those men, the surviving victims and even the driver who fell asleep at the wheel.
“This sort of incident could happen to anyone. My message to all motorists is to make sure they are properly rested before setting off on their journey and must take a rest during it.
“Falling asleep at the wheel doesn’t happen straight away, you will get tell tale signs and that’s when you must act before it’s too late. Pull over as soon as it is safe to do so and take a break, a rest and, if needed, a nap.
“Only continue your journey once you feel refreshed; drink some coffee, make sure your vehicle is not too hot inside and that there is fresh air coming in. Also ask your passengers to keep you in conversation or, if you are driving alone, have the radio on.
“Every driver owes it to themselves, their passengers and other road users to make sure they are fit to get behind the wheel and that includes not being too tired.
“The road safety message: ‘Tiredness Kills’ is true and sadly so true in this tragic case.”