A lorry driver who drove the wrong way down the M62 after falling asleep at the wheel will be jailed, Liverpool Crown Court ruled today.
Michael Hughes, of Dunster Road in Longton, Stoke-On-Trent, confessed to falling asleep and pleaded guilty to dangerous driving.
Dashcam footage from Hughes vehicle was played in court and showed the lorry veering across two lanes before demolishing the barrier on the central reservation.
The 63-year-old will serve nine months in jail for the incident which occurred at 3.15pm on 7 September 2016.
Hughes was fighting sleep during his journey to Seaforth docks in Liverpool where he ignored the chance to stop at Burtonwood Services for a break, the court heard.
Motorists swerved to avoid the lorry as it continued for nearly a mile in the wrong direction down the outside lane of the eastbound carriageway.
A van driven by Aden Stocks smashed into the rear end of another car in an effort to avoid the lorry. Mr Stocks was left with lasting injuries to his back and neck.
Hughes continued his journey to Seaforth, driving into oncoming traffic on the slip road at junction seven, Ranhill.
Jonathan Rogers, prosecuting, told the court Hughes had been feeling sleepy before the incident.
He said: ‘Significantly, he passes Burtonwood Services at which he could have stopped to take a break.
‘After this he approaches junction seven to St Helens, where he appears to fall asleep.’
But Hughes, who told police he ‘panicked’ and felt ‘disorientated,’ continued along the wrong side of the motorway at speeds approaching 50mph.
Hughes was eventually stopped by police after multiple calls about the incident.
Nicholas Walker, defending, told the court his client had not driven in a ‘cavalier’ fashion but had simply panicked when he awoke.
He told the court Hughes has since been diagnosed with sleep apnoea, a sleeping disorder which can cause people to feel tired during the day.
Mr Walker said: ‘He will never get back behind the wheel of a HGV and at the age of 63 it has brought his career to an end and his working life to an end.’
Mr Walker said his client, who once served in the army, was ‘deeply sorry’ for the injuries suffered by Mr Stocks, who had been forced to change careers due to neck and back pain.
Judge Robert Trevor-Jones, sentencing, said: ‘It all followed from your decision, and it was a decision, not to stop when you felt sleepy, to carry on and press ahead and make the delivery and keep the schedule.
‘To take that decision was a fatal mistake for you.
‘It’s an absolute miracle… that something catastrophic didn’t happen.’