The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Two jailed over pile-up that killed 8 Court:
Victims on way to Disneyland
Two lorry drivers have been jailed for causing a pile-up that killed eight people and seriously injured four others in a minibus taking passengers to Disneyland.
Ryszard Masierak, 31, was jailed for 14 years while David Wagstaff, 54, was jailed for three years and four months yesterday at Aylesbury Crown Court for causing the collision on the M1 in the early hours of August 26 last year.
The minibus driven by Cyriac Joseph was crushed between their two vehicles when Masierak came to a stop in the slow lane while twice the legal alcohol limit.
Wagstaff had his vehicle on cruise control when he ploughed into the back of the minibus at 56mph.
Six men, including Mr Joseph, and two women were killed, while four others were seriously injured.
Polish national Masierak, of Evesham, Worcestershire, had been stationary in the slow lane for more than 12 minutes.
At trial, it emerged his licence had been revoked by the authorities for multiple driving offences.
The court heard he had been driving erratically for more than two hours before the accident, including driving the wrong way around a major roundabout. Cider cans were found in the cab of his lorry.
Masierak was convicted of eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving and four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving after trial at Reading Crown Court earlier this month.
Wagstaff, from Stoke, admitted eight counts of causing death by careless driving and four counts of careless driving, but was cleared of causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving.