Speeding heavy goods driver who ploughed his livestock lorry into a car killing British father and his baby on French road in 2017 is jailed for just one year
- A driver who killed a baby and British father when he crashed into their car in north-west France has been sentenced to only 12 months in jail five years later
- The driver had faked a test intended to monitor his driving time, authorities said
- He had also sent several messages from his phone just before the accident
A speeding lorry driver who killed a British father and his ten-month-old baby when he crashed into their car in France has received only one year in jail.
The heavy-goods driver was speeding at the time he crashed his empty cattle truck into the car of a British couple in 2017.
The driver of the cattle truck, a 32-year-old man, was sentenced Thursday by the criminal court of Quimper in Brittany to five years in prison, four of which are suspended.
The British family were enjoying a holiday at the town of Plogastel-Saint-Germain, with the baby’s grandparents travelling just ahead close to the village of Pluguffan, when their car was hit from behind.
The baby is said to have died instantly while the father died after being treated in hospital. Pictured above, the scene of the crash
‘It was a very violent collision,’ a member of the Gendarmes was quoted saying at the time.
The baby is thought to have died instantly, while the 37-year-old father was extracted from the wreckage and taken to hospital in Quimper, but died from his injuries a day later.
The mother, who was travelling in the front of the car, was taken to hospital in Brest after suffering heavy injuries and became the sole survivor from the car.
There was evidence to suggest the truck that hit the car had braked for about 65 feet before crashing into the family car, which was about to turn left.
The British-rented car was then apparently forced onto the other side of the road.
The driver was treated for shock and suffered slight injuries. He had been travelling at 87km on a 80km road and had sent several messages from his phone just before the accident.
The ‘very violent collision’ occurred near the Breton village of Pluguffan, shown above
At the time of the crash, authorities found the driver had faked a company test intended to monitor his driving time, according to French newspaper 20 Minutes.
Drivers are required to rest for at least 45 minutes after 4.5 hours of driving under EU law, but the livestock driver had not taken the rest period required at the time of the crash.
He was banned from driving a truck for five years and his company was fined £16,922.
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