HGV driver jailed after Stafford family hurt in M42 crash
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The family's car was hit by the lorry after breaking down, police said
A lorry driver who admitted seriously injuring three members of a family when he hit their car on the hard shoulder has been jailed.
One of them, a girl now 10, cannot walk or talk and will need a carer for the rest of her life, police said.
Dominic Nicholls, 51, of Hadleigh, Suffolk, crashed into the back of their Nissan X-Trail which had broken down on the M42 in Warwickshire, in April 2022.
He was jailed for 30 months at Warwick Crown Court.
PC Craig Pearson of Warwickshire Police's serious collision investigation unit, said the lives of the Stafford family had been "devastated by what happened that day".
Nicholls, of Inkerman Terrace, pleaded guilty to three counts of dangerous driving causing serious injury at a previous hearing.
The family were returning from Heathrow Airport after a holiday when the crash happened on the northbound carriageway shortly before midnight on 28 April.
A warning light appeared on their car's dashboard and they pulled over between junctions eight and nine, near Kingsbury, to investigate the issue, police said.
Nicholls was about a minute behind and "for reasons unknown, the lorry drifted on to the hard shoulder at 55mph and collided with the rear of the X-Trail before the family had time to exit the vehicle", police said.
The girl, then eight, was taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital with life-threatening injuries. She survived, but will need life-long care, the force said.
'No attempt to brake'
Her mother and father were also seriously hurt and their son, aged five, sustained minor injuries.
PC Pearson said Mr Nicholls had "never provided an explanation" why his HGV travelled directly on to the hard shoulder.
"The dashcam footage from the HGV shows that Mr Nicholls makes no attempt to brake or take avoiding action prior to the collision, he said.
"This is a very sad and tragic case."
At the hearing on 19 October, Nicholls was also disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for eight years and three months, and will have to pass an extended test to drive again.
He was also ordered to pay a £190 victim surcharge.
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