Jail for 'reckless' lorry driver over drugs limit

A police officer said it was a "miracle" that the occupants of the car survived

A lorry driver jailed after losing control and crashing into an oncoming car when he was almost double the drug-drive limit "displayed unbelievable recklessness", police have said.

Anthony Campbell, 55, was driving a 44-tonne Scania HGV when he swerved into the path of a Mercedes on the A47 at Guyhirn, near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on 3 January.

Campbell, of Culross Place, East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, was given a two-year jail term last week after admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Tests showed he had been smoking cannabis, and a police officer involved in the crash investigation said it was a "miracle" the two occupants of the Mercedes survived.

Lorry driver Anthony Campbell has been given a two-year jail sentence

“Campbell displayed unbelievable recklessness and ignorance in getting behind the wheel after smoking cannabis," said PC Boris Kahn, of the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Serious Collision Investigation Unit.

“It is nothing short of a miracle that the driver and the passenger in the Mercedes are still here today."

He added: "Anyone who drives after taking illegal drugs is putting people’s lives at risk, and it is completely unacceptable.”

The passenger in the Mercedes said he thought he was going to die

The Mercedes driver, a 33-year-old man, suffered minor injuries.

The passenger, a 38-year-old man, suffered serious injuries and underwent surgery after being airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge.

Both men were from Birmingham. Campbell was uninjured.

“When I was trapped in the car at the scene of the crash, I thought I was going to die," the passenger said in a victim statement.

"I can’t believe that someone would be so stupid as to drive a 44-tonne lorry with drugs in their system."

'Dangerous driving'

Campbell was arrested after failing a roadside drugs test.

A blood sample later showed his cannabis level at 3.7mcg per litre of blood - the legal limit is 2mcg per litre of blood.

Campbell was jailed at Peterborough Crown Court on 12 July. He was also disqualified from driving for four years.