Motorway Crash

A lorry driver who caused the death of a young man in a motorway crash has been jailed for four years.

Colin Steele, 41, from Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, had denied causing the death by dangerous driving of Pierce Armstrong, 20, of Barrow, Cumbria.

He was convicted by a jury at Carlisle Crown Court, who heard that Mr Armstrong died trapped in the passenger seat of a Mitsubishi Shogun after it overturned several times in the crash on the M6 in March 2007.

Mr Steele's 18-tonne truck had run into the back of a lorry being towed after a breakdown, causing him to veer across the road and crash into the Shogun.

The court heard that Mr Steele had told police the slow speed of the breakdown truck had surprised him.

The prosecution said there was no apparent reason why he had failed to avoid the crash as the weather was fine and the breakdown truck had a row of flashing amber warning lights behind its cab.

Mr Armstrong's mother Jayne, 47, and brothers Cavan, five, Hal, 18, and Hayden, 14, were all badly hurt after being thrown clear of the crash.

Copyright © PA Business 2008