Smart m-way firm swerves killing charge
NATIONAL Highways has avoided corporate manslaughter charges over two fatal crashes on a smart motorway.
The government firm was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service by a coroner following the 2018 death of Nargis Begum, 62, on a stretch of the M1 without a hard shoulder.
A second coroner probing the 2019 M1 deaths of Jason Mercer, 44, and Alexandru Murgeanu, 22, also in South Yorkshire, said: “A lack of hard shoulder contributed to this tragedy.”
South Yorkshire Police looked into charges but Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Poolman said legally “the organisation [National Highways] did not owe road users a relevant duty of care”.