M18 crash death: DPD driver who killed father-of three in pile-up jailed

Przemyslaw Anucik was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday

A courier driver who killed a father-of-three in a pile-up on the M18 in Doncaster has been jailed.

Przemyslaw Anucik, 32, admitted causing the death of Shaun McMahon, 60, by dangerous driving on 6 October 2021.

Sheffield Crown Court heard on Tuesday how Anucik had been "oblivious" to stationary traffic and crashed into a taxi in which Mr McMahon had been a passenger.

Anucik, of Curlew View, Pontefract, was sentenced to three years in prison.

Stephen Grattage, prosecuting, told the court Anucik, a DPD driver at the time, had caused the four-vehicle pile-up on the M18 near Hatfield after failing to react to stationary traffic.

Mr Grattage said other drivers in the queue had activated their hazard lights, including the taxi driver who had been transporting Mr McMahon.

The court heard Mr McMahon had been on his way back from Scunthorpe after acting as a school escort for a young boy.

He suffered catastrophic injuries when Anucik's van crashed into the rear of the taxi.

Mr McMahon was taken to Northern General Hospital in Sheffield where he died the following day.

The taxi driver suffered a bleed on his brain while Anucik sustained minor injuries. Four vehicles were damaged in the collision.

Mr Grattage told the court visibility had been good at the time of the crash and the weather had been fine and dry.

There had been no traces of drugs or alcohol in Anucik's system, the court heard, and there had been no suggestion he had driven above the speed limit.

Anucik had no previous convictions and his driving record had been "good".

Dale Harris, defending, said the events of that day would stay with Anucik "forever" and said his client was "deeply remorseful".

Mr Harris said Anucik had just become a father for the second time, telling the court: "A case like this tears apart two families and causes terrible grief.

"It is perhaps self-evident to say that on 6 October 2021, never in a million years did Mr Anucik think he'd bring about the death of another individual."

On Tuesday, Anucik was sentenced to three years imprisonment and was disqualified from driving for six-and-a-half years.

Passing sentence, Judge Sarah Wright said that at the time of his death, Mr McMahon had been performing an "important and vital service as a school escort".

"He was a committed family man, a much-loved life partner, father, grandfather, brother and friend," Judge Wright told the court.

"No sentence I pass today can ever reflect the loss for his loved ones and the continuing immeasurable pain that those close to him will feel."

'Death has ripped us apart'

In a statement read out in court, Mr McMahon's common-law wife said they had been together for 43 years and had raised three daughters.

"We did everything together, holidays, shopping and visiting our daughters," the statement read.

"We were life partners, we were joined at the hip, we were inseparable."

She said she could feel the pain of losing Mr McMahon "physically in my heart" and said his death "has ripped us apart".

She added: "I miss him so much, I feel like I've lost my right arm."

Other family members described Mr McMahon as kind, gentle and "the go-to person" in times of need.

His sister said: "He was a mediator who'd keep us all together.

"Now he is gone, I feel so alone in my family and it feels disjointed without Shaun pulling us together."