Lorry Driver Gets Suspended Sentence for M62 Injury Crash

A 61-year-old lorry driver from Rossendale received a suspended prison sentence at Minshull Street Crown Court after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and driving over the specified drug limit in a collision that nearly killed a 70-year-old grandmother on the M62 motorway.

The incident occurred on May 2, 2023, near Birch Services, when Wayne Burgess's heavy goods vehicle slammed into the rear of the woman's car as she slowed in heavy traffic while heading home from work in the inside lane. Dashcam footage captured Burgess, who was distracted by reciting a Salford postcode over a hands-free call and entering it into his satellite navigation system, exclaiming, "F hell, I've just killed someone," immediately after the impact. The woman's vehicle became lodged and crushed between Burgess's truck and another lorry ahead, trapping her inside the wreckage for a significant time until firefighters cut her free.

She was rushed to the major trauma unit at Salford Royal Hospital, where she was treated for a fractured eye socket, two broken ribs, numerous lacerations, and other injuries that resulted in severe facial disfigurement. Prosecutors described how the...