Hard shoulder may have prevented death of lorry crash victim on M1 smart motorway in Northamptonshire, inquest hears

An inquest at Northampton’s Guildhall this morning (April 13) has heard that a 53-year-old Northampton man, who died after a lorry smashed into the back of two stationary cars on the M1, may have lived if there had been a hard shoulder.

David Levett, who had cerebral palsy, was a rear seat passenger in his carer’s Seat Leon travelling southbound on the M1 on Sunday, January 28 in 2018.

The carer’s brother-in-law called him to say that his Volvo had broken down in lane one between junctions 17 and 18, where there was no hard shoulder as it was a four lane smart motorway.

Mr Levett’s carer, giving evidence, said he pulled up behind his brother-in-law’s Volvo at around 6pm and noticed him standing on the roadside. He switched his hazard lights on and told his brother-in-law to do the same.

He intended to drive his brother-in-law somewhere safe, where he could wait for vehicle recovery. Moments after Mr Levett’s carer’s brother-in-law climbed into the front passenger seat, a HGV ploughed into the back of the vehicle.

Mr Levett’s carer said: “I remember being in a huge amount of pain and laying on an angle. Someone told me we had been hit by a lorry. I was shouting David’s name over and over and going in and out of consciousness.”

A witness, who had been driving in lane two on the motorway prior to the collision, spotted hazard lights flashing from lane one and moved over to lane three to give the lorry travelling in lane one room to move across.

Giving evidence, the witness said: “I kept thinking to myself he’s going to move out, he’s going to swerve out of the way but suddenly there was debris everywhere. I could not believe he did not see the car with the hazard lights on.”

Mr Levett was rushed to University Hospital in Coventry with severe head and chest injuries and, following extensive surgeries, died on February 24, 2018.

Mr Levett’s carer, who said he was “lucky to be alive” said his ribs had all been broken on one side and he had sustained spinal cord and shoulder injuries. His brother-in-law sustained head injuries and fractures to his femur and spine. Both men have since recovered.

The lorry driver was charged with causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving.

The inquest heard that, in a police interview, he told officers that he was sorry for what happened and he did not see any hazard lights.

The lorry driver subsequently fled to his home country, Turkey, and is still wanted by Northamptonshire Police.

The inquest heard that the lorry was travelling at around 53mph and there was no evidence that the driver attempted to brake before the collision.

A police officer told the inquest that Stationary Vehicle Detection (SVD), which notifies a control room when a vehicle is stationary on a smart motorway, was not in place at the time of the collision but is now.

Senior Coroner, Anne Pember, said: “I believe that, if the hard shoulder had been available for the broken down vehicle to pull into, it’s quite possible that David Levett would not have died.”

She returned a verdict of death by road traffic collision.