Lorry driver died in six-vehicle collision on the M18 in Yorkshire after he fell asleep at the wheel

Sergej Mesevra, 41, failed to see the lorry in front of him braking for a queue of traffic at junction 2 for Wadworth on July 25 last year, and ploughed into the back of it.

He died at the scene after his cab was crushed by the trailer of the other HGV, which was then shunted into a number of vehicles, including a van, two cars and a third lorry.

An inquest at Doncaster Coroner’s Court was told that Mr Mesevra, who had moved to Grimsby from Lithuania with his partner and teenage son in 2015, worked for container haulage specialists KBC Logistics, who have a base at Immingham Docks.

Despite a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for which he was on regular medication, the driver was passed fit for work and on the day of the collision, had started his shift at 7.30am and left the M1 at Thurcroft Interchange to access the M18.

A postmortem found that Mr Mesevra died of multiple injuries and had no drugs or alcohol in his system. Police officers at the scene also breathalysed five of the other drivers whose vehicles were involved in the incident. The driver of the Sainsbury’s HGV that was hit by Ms Mesevra’s Mercedes lorry, Henry Stubbs, tested negative, as did Jason Jones, who was travelling in a Sky work van; Paul Oakes, who was behind the wheel of the third HGV; and Christopher Gregory, who was in a Hyundai. All had been in the queue for the junction and none were seriously injured.

Forensic collision investigator Alexander Holmes gave evidence to the hearing, and told the court that the seat belt in Mr Mesevra’s cab had been stowed and did not appear to have been worn. The lorry was not defective, and was fitted with CCTV cameras in the cab as well as a dashcam, which showed it travelling at around 56mph on the stretch between the M1 and M18.

At around 5pm, the footage showed both lorries travelling at a consistent speed with a gap between them, but this gap then shortened and the Sainsbury’s lorry braked, with Mr Mesevra’s speed remaining at 50mph.

Mr Holmes added that throughout the journey, the cab cameras appeared to show Mr Mesevra struggling to stay awake, with his head tilted back, his eyes closed and regular shuffling. The dozing seemed to be intermittent.

Mr Holmes also stated that the right hand lane of the motorway was free at the time, giving Mr Mesevra the option of moving into it to avoid the collision rather than braking heavily.

Tachograph data from both HGVs was examined. The Sainsbury’s truck had slowed to 10mph just before the impact, having seen the build-up of traffic before the exit. Mr Mesevra’s data showed that he had not exceeded his legal driving hours, had taken regular breaks and had had two days off work before his shift. He had not driven overnight.

Mr Holmes said that there were multiple opportunities for Mr Mesevra to leave the M1 and M18 at various junctions if he wished to make a rest stop. He added that when the Sainsbury’s lorry’s brake lights became visible, there was sufficient time and space to come to a safe stop if he had reacted within two seconds.

His report concluded that the HGV was likely to have been in cruise control and that the primary cause of the collision was Mr Mesevra not reacting to the hazard ahead.

Assistant coroner Marilyn Whittle agreed that Ms Mesevra had most likely fallen asleep at the wheel and recorded a conclusion of death in a road traffic collision.