Smart motorways’ ‘callous disregard for human life’ brings demand for prosecution

POLICE are being urged to prosecute Highways England for corporate manslaughter after a judge said two smart motorway deaths could have been prevented if there had been a hard shoulder.

Sevim Üstün, 49, and Ayse Üstün, 68, were killed when a lorry hit the car they had been in after it broke down and became stranded on the M25 in Essex. Murat Üstün was driving his Audi 3 with his mother, grandmother and sister in the car, when a puncture caused him to pull over in a live lane because he could not reach an emergency refuge area. Overhead gantry signs run by Highways England did not close the lane or warn of a brokendown vehicle.

A court heard that Krzysztof Zarebski, 35, had a “momentary lapse in concentration” before his lorry hit the Audi then the safety barrier behind which the family had been sheltering in the 2018 crash. The two women were killed and Mr Üstün’s 10-year-old sister suffered life-changing injuries. Mr Üstün survived.

Sentencing the Polish lorry driver to four months’ jail, suspended for a year, for causing death by careless driving,

Judge Gratwicke said: “I accept that if there had been a hard shoulder or a refuge into which Mr Üstün could have steered, that collision would not have occurred.

“However, it is not for this court to make any judgments or observations on the wisdom of smart motorways or the strength of safety barriers.”

But Mike Rawson, a retired Metropolitan Police traffic officer who served for 35 years, has written to Ben-Julian Harrington, the chief constable of Essex Police, urging him to prosecute Highways England over its “callous disregard” for human life.

In his letter, Mr Rawson asked: “Would you consider recommending the Crown Prosecution Service prosecuting Highways England for corporate manslaughter?”

He added: “One person has died on a smart motorway every six weeks during the last five years, and it is time to end the policy. This will only be achieved following successful prosecutions of Highways England.”

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “We have received a letter and will review the contents and get back to the author.”

Highways England was last night unavailable for comment.