Lorry driver charged with drink-driving over smash that killed 8
A LORRY driver has been charged with drink-driving after a motorway crash which killed eight people and left a five-year-old girl orphaned.
Ryszard Masierak, 31, originally from Poland, will appear in court today in connection with the early-morning smash on the M1 on Saturday.
Six men and two women travelling in a minibus died in the worst tragedy on the roads for nearly 25 years. Four others, including the girl, were seriously hurt. She was trapped in the wreckage for more than an hour.
Minibus driver Cyriac Joseph, 52, was also killed along with three Indian IT workers, Karthikeyan Ramasubramaniyam Pugalur, Rishi Rajeev Kumar and Vivek Bhaskaran. They were part of group of 11 family and friends travelling from Nottingham to London to go on a coach trip to France.
The trip had been organised by P Manoranjan, who worked at IT firm Wipro in Nottingham with the other three. His parents, who were visiting from India, were also in the minibus. Mr Manoranjan, his wife and his mother survived the crash, but his father died along with his aunt and uncle and his three colleagues. One of the trio was the father of the little girl, whose mother was also killed.
Two lorries collided with the 16- seater minibus in the southbound carriageway, close to junction 15 for Newport Pagnell, Bucks, at 3.15am.
Lorry driver Masierak, of Evesham, Worcestershire, will appear at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court today, charged with eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving, four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and eight counts of causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed alcohol limit.
A second lorry driver, David Wagstaff, 53, of Stoke- on-Trent, has also been charged with eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving and four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving in connection with the smash. He was bailed to appear at Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court on September 11.
Witnesses described horrific scenes, and photos of the aftermath show the serious damage caused to the minibus, which was left a mangled wreck.
Other images show a FedEx lorry with its cab crushed and a twisted AIM Logistics truck.
Mr Joseph, owner of ABC Travels, had picked up the group from Nottingham and they were 80 miles into their journey when the crash happened. Mani Balasubramian, the director of a local news station in Chennai, said his sister, Shri Valli Panneerselvam, and her husband, A Panneerselvam, were on the bus.
They had travelled to the UK to see their son Mr Manoranjan, who had moved to Nottingham six months earlier to work for Wipro.
He said that two days after arriving the family made a last-minute plan to tour France for a week. Also on the trip was Mr Manoranjan’s wife Sangeetha, who also survived. But his uncle Arachelcan Arunachalam and aunt Tamilmani, 55, were killed.
The five- year- old girl was trapped under a seat. Passer-by Brett Smith, 36, told how he held her hand and promised her a McDonald’s as they waited for the emergency services. She was in a critical condition in hospital last night, with two others. A fourth injured passenger, a woman, was in a serious but stable condition.
Mr Balasubramian, 54, said: ‘We learnt about the accident in the morning. My brother-in-law and his sister and her husband died.’
Friends and family paid tribute to Mr Joseph – known as Benny – and described him as a hard-working family man.
Originally from Kerala in southern India, where he studied botany, he moved with his wife Ancy, 52, and their two children to the UK more than ten years ago. He set up his own business in 2008.
Just last week, they celebrated daughter Benitea’s GCSE results. She achieved 12 A and A* grades. Mrs Joseph is a cardiac nurse at Nottingham City Hospital. Yesterday, his son Benson, 20, a student, said: ‘I miss him so much already.’
Relative Soyimon Joseph said Mr Joseph was the ‘ perfect driver’, adding: ‘He would only use the slow lane and the second lane and had an alarm in his minibus that would go off if he went over 60mph.’
Friend Manu Zachariah, 45, said: ‘ Cyriac was not like normal fathers. He would love to spend his money and time on his children like none of his friends.
‘He was always very encouraging of their extra-curricular activities. He was an extraordinary father, and would do anything for his friends. He was always there for us and will be really missed.’
The road was closed for ten hours after the crash. The death toll is the highest from a crash on a British motorway since November 1993, when 12 children and their teacher died in a crash on the M40.
Spokesmen for AIM Logistics and FedEx expressed sympathies to those who lost loved ones in the crash, and said they were assisting police with their inquiries. Police have appealed for witnesses.
‘He was always there for us’