AN EVESHAM lorry driver who was found guilty of eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving and four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving earlier this month has been jailed for 14 years.
Ryszard Masierak, 32, of Barnards Close was jailed at Aylesbury Crown Court on Friday.
He was found guilty on Tuesday, March 6 following a trial which took place at Reading Crown Court. Masierak was also disqualified from driving for a period of 17 years.
David Wagstaff, 54, of Derwent Street, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to three years’ and four months imprisonment for eight counts of causing death by careless driving. He pleaded guilty to these offences at Aylesbury Crown Court on 27 October 2017.
Wagstaff was also disqualified from driving for five years and seven months and will be subject to an extended driving test.
He was acquitted of eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving and four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving following the trial which concluded on Wednesday 7 March.
At around 3am on Saturday 26 August last year Masierak had been driving a heavy goods vehicle on the M1 southbound near Newport Pagnell. He stopped his lorry in lane one of the carriageway where he remained for 12.5 minutes, causing an obstruction.
A group of family and friends was travelling in a minibus on their way to a trip around Europe.
The minibus approached Masierak’s stationary HGV in lane one, and stopped behind it, unable to pull in to lane two to overtake due to traffic.
Meanwhile Wagstaff was driving a lorry which approached the scene. He was talking on his mobile phone using hands free while on cruise control. He collided with the stationary vehicles while travelling at 56mph, pushing the minibus under Masierak’s lorry.
