Lorry driver jailed over M1 crash which killed eight

A second lorry driver has been jailed for causing a crash that killed eight people and seriously injured four others on the M1 in Newport Pagnell last August.

The victims had been on their way from Nottingham to London to catch a coach to Disneyland Paris.

Ryszard Masierak, 31, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

David Wagstaff, was jailed for three years and four months after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving.

Fed Ex driver Wagstaff had been on a hands-free call and was driving on cruise control when he crashed into a minibus driven by Cyriac Joseph.

Mr Joseph had been waiting behind a second lorry, driven by Masierak, who had stopped in the slow lane for 12 minutes - despite there being miles of hard shoulder.

Mr Joseph had his hazards on and was waiting to pull out when Wagstaff hit them at 56mph - it then forced the minibus under Masierak’s lorry.

At trial, it emerged Masierak did not have a professional licence after it wasrevoked by the authorities for multiple driving offences including speeding inhis HGV, driving his lorry in the fast lane, running a red light and ignoringdriving hours limits.

Six men and two women were killed in the crash, while four others including a four-year-old girl were seriously injured.

A judge said the crash was the most serious in the UK for morethan 26 years.