Trucker jailed for mowing down PC

A lorry driver from Sholver who killed a “one in a billion” police officer when his truck strayed on to the hard shoulder of a motorway has been jailed for two years and nine months.

Andrew Abernethy’s truck left the M1 near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, trapping PC Mark Goodlad between his police car and another vehicle, Leeds Crown Court heard.

PC Goodlad was helping a stranded woman motorist with a flat tyre at the time.

A judge heard that Abernethy (45), of Rembrandt Walk, was driving an orange Scania articulated lorry which hit PC Goodlad’s marked BMW X5 police car and a grey Suzuki Swift on the southbound carriageway of the M1, near the village of Crigglestone, in October, last year.

The police car and the Suzuki were both stationary on the hard shoulder.

Officers said PC Goodlad (41) was between the two vehicles, helping 51-year-old Sharon Burgess.

Abernethy admitted causing death by dangerous driving.

Judge Scott Wolstenholme heard that Abernethy, who worked for a parcel firm in Oldham, set off from work with a load of bedding an hour before the collision.

The defendant told police he “lost momentary concentration” because he felt he had something in his eye and took his glasses off to try to remove the problem.

Police investigators believed the accident showed signs that Abernethy had fallen asleep at the wheel.

But with no other evidence to support this theory, the judge said he had to sentence on the basis of the defendant’s version of events.

Prosecutors said the lapse of concentration was not momentary.

Andrew Dallas, prosecuting, said a detailed investigation showed the lorry travelled down the hard shoulder for between 120 and 250 metres, which translated to between 4.8 and 10 seconds. Mr Dallas said this showed “prolonged and complete inattention to the road ahead”.

The prosecutor said: “He drifted on to the hard shoulder and stayed there, notwithstanding the highly conspicuous obstruction ahead of it.”
For the full story buy the newspaper or read the eChron and iChron digital versions of the Chronicle.