A homeless Polish-born lorry driver accused of killing eight people had stopped in the slow lane of the M1 for 12 minutes before the crash and was almost twice the drink drive limit, a court heard today.
Ryszard Masierak, 31, of Evesham, Worcestershire, sobbed in the dock at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court where he appeared in connection with Britain’s most deadly road crash for a generation.
Six men and two women travelling in a minibus including its much-loved driver Cyriac Joseph died in the worst tragedy on Britain’s roads for nearly 25 years.
Their vehicle had to swerve to avoid Masierak’s stationary Scania lorry, which had been stationary in lane one for nearly quarter of an hour.
But the minibus was ‘squashed flat’ as it collided with a second lorry in lane two with all three vehicles then smashing into each other near Newport Pagnell at 3.15am on Saturday morning.
Ryszard Masierak, 31, of Evesham, Worcestershire, sobbed in the dock at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court today where he appeared in connection with Britain’s most deadly road crash for a generation
M1 crash victim Cyriac Joseph’s son Benson, wife Ancy and daughter Bennita (left to right) prayed for him in church yesterday at a special memorial service in his honour in Nottingham yesterday
Cyriac Joseph died in the horror crash where eight people including Vivek Baskaran lost their lives
Eight people died after Mr Joseph’s minibus, pictured above, was ‘squashed flat’ after a crash with two lorries on the M1 on Saturda
Masierak, whose former flatmate said he is living in his car after splitting with his wife, is accused of eight counts of causing death by dangerous and four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Mano Ranjan Panneerselvam and his wife Sangeetha were critically injured but have survived
Police also charged him with drink driving after he gave a reading of 55 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of breath – the legal limit for driving is 35.
Minibus driver Cyriac Joseph, 52, was also killed along with three Indian IT workers, Karthikeyan Ramasubramaniyam Pugalur, Rishi Rajeev Kumar and Vivek Bhaskaran.
Mr Joseph’s son Benson, wife Ancy and daughter Bennita prayed for him in church yesterday at a special memorial service in his honour in Nottingham yesterday.
Four others, including the orphaned girl, were seriously hurt. She was trapped in the wreckage for more than an hour and was found under a seat.
They were part of group of 11 family and friends travelling from Nottingham to London to go on a holiday to France.
Masierak sobbed in the dock at High Wycombe Magistrates Court as a total of 20 charges were read to him.
In addition to causing death by dangerous driving Masierak of Barnards Close, Evesham, Worcestershire, is accused of four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and eight counts of causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit.
He allegedly gave a reading of 55 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of breath – the legal limit for driving is 35.
His lawyer Sarah Powell handed Masierak, who was dressed in a grey track suit, a tissue as the charges were read. She said no plea would be entered at this stage and did not apply for bail.
The lorry driver, who was aided by an interpreter, had his head bowed for most of the 35 minutes hearing.
Prosecutor Zainab Mohamed said the collision, which happened on the southbound carriageway of the M1 near junction 14 at Newport Pagnell at 3.15am on Saturday morning, involved Masierak’s Scania lorry, which was stationary in lane one. The minibus, in which the victims were travelling pulled out of lane one, and was hit by another lorry.
He was remanded in custody and will appear at Aylesbury Crown Court on September 26
Masierak leaves High Wycombe Magistrates Court in a prison van after being was remanded in custody and will appear at Aylesbury Crown Court on September 26
Chief Inspector Henry Parsons, from Thames Valley Police, outside court where he said the four survivors of the horror smash are all in a serious condition in hospital
A former flatmate of the lorry driver in court today said he had recently been divorced and that his transport business had closed down last year.
The man, who asked not to be named, also said Masierak had served in the Polish Army, and had been living in a car for two months since splitting from his wife.
His flatmate, who did not wish to be named, said that he had been trying to help him.
He said: ‘He had been living in a car so I wanted to help him, he was practically homeless. I can’t believe what has happened.’
Police had called at his house on Saturday night to look at Maseriak’s passport and returned on Sunday to ask his flatmate about Maseriak.
The ill-fated minibus trip had been organised by P Manoranjan, who worked at IT firm Wipro in Nottingham with the other three.
His parents, who were visiting from India, were also in the minibus.
Mr Manoranjan, his wife and his mother survived the crash, but his father died along with his aunt and uncle and his three colleagues.
One of the trio was the father of the little girl, whose mother was also killed.
Pictured: The front of a FedEx lorry was completely caved in (bottom right) while a second lorry appeared to have jack-knifed across the M1 carriageway. The minibus was described as ‘squashed’. The first victim has been named as father-of-two and minibus driver Cyriac Joseph (bottom left and top right)
Some of those on board the minibus were visiting the UK from India and Thames Valley Police said this evening it’s possible all eight people who were killed were from the same family
Bank Holiday horror: The smashed up cab of the FedEx lorry involved in a fatal crash being towed away from the scene as four others remain in hospital
Two lorries collided with the 16-seater minibus in the southbound carriageway, close to junction 15 for Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, at 3.15am.
Father of two Cyriac Joseph, who was driving the minibus, was the first person involved to be named.
The 52-year-old’s devastated wife Ancy, son Benson and daughter Bennita attended a memorial service at St Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, on Lenton Boulevard, on Sunday morning.
His bereaved son Benson said his father had booked the job to take the family visiting from India down to London.
Benson said he missed his father ‘so much’ already as he heartbreakingly revealed he and his mother and sister had only just returned from holiday.
He said: ‘We had not seen dad for a while. He stayed home so he could keep running the company. That’s when he agreed to take these clients. We hardly saw him after we got back. I miss him so much already.’
Around 100 people gathered for the near two-hour service, held to remember their friend.
Matthew John – a spokesman for the family and Ancy’s cousin – paid tribute to him.
The 41-year-old, also of Sherwood, said: ‘He was a great dad and he was always a family-orientated person, and a very loving person.
‘He was a great leader, involved in a lot of community activities. He was very active with the local church.
‘He was a very hard-working person. He did what he thought was best for his family. When he came from India, he had the courage to start his own business.
‘He was successfully doing that and sadly this happened – a great loss for the entire community.’
Mr Joseph moved to Nottingham from India 13 years ago and set up company ABC Travels, which he ran from his home in Linby Close, in 2008.
Father Biju Joseph, of Arnold, had been supporting the family after the horror crash.
The 38-year-old said: ‘He was such a wonderful man. He was a very good family man.
‘He was hard-working and very generous. He was such a lovely person. That’s why we feel this is a great, great loss for all of us.’
Mr Joseph leaves behind wife Ancy – a cardiac nurse at Nottingham City Hospital – son Benson – who had just been offered a place at the University of Birmingham to study Cyber Security – and daughter Bennita – who had just collected her GCSE results, which were all either A*s or As.
Six men and two women have been killed in the M1 collision in Newport Pagnell and one man, one woman and a five-year-old girl are in hospital with life-threatening injuries, Thames Valley Police have said. The remains of the minibus, which is in two pieces, are pictured being removed from scene on the M1 motorway
Pictured: Visible skid marks can be seen in the left-hand lane while the churned up verge shows where vehicles collided with the bank
The accident happened just after 3am on Saturday morning involving two lorries and a minibus, thought to have been travelling from Nottingham
Lorry driver Masierak, of Evesham, Worcestershire, appeared at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court today, charged with eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving, four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and eight counts of causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed alcohol limit.
A second lorry driver, David Wagstaff, 53, of Stoke-on-Trent, has also been charged with eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving and four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving in connection with the smash.
He was bailed to appear at Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court on September 11.
Witnesses described horrific scenes, and photos of the aftermath show the serious damage caused to the minibus, which was left a mangled wreck.
Other images show a FedEx lorry with its cab crushed and a twisted AIM Logistics truck.
Mr Joseph, owner of ABC Travels, had picked up the group from Nottingham and they were 80 miles into their journey when the crash happened.
Mani Balasubramian, the director of a local news station in Chennai, said his sister, Shri Valli Panneerselvam, and her husband, A Panneerselvam, were on the bus.
They had travelled to the UK to see their son Mr Manoranjan, who had moved to Nottingham six months earlier to work for Wipro.
He said that two days after arriving the family made a last-minute plan to tour France for a week.
Also on the trip was Mr Manoranjan’s wife Sangeetha, who also survived. But his uncle Arachelcan Arunachalam and aunt Tamilmani, 55, were killed.
The five-year-old girl was trapped under a seat.
Passer-by Brett Smith, 36, told how he held her hand and promised her a McDonald’s as they waited for the emergency services. She was in a critical condition in hospital last night, with two others.
A fourth injured passenger, a woman, was in a serious but stable condition.
Mr Balasubramian, 54, said: ‘We learnt about the accident in the morning. My brother-in-law and his sister and her husband died.’
Pictured: Cyriac Joseph was killed outright when his minibus – carrying eleven passengers – was involved in a crash with two lorries
Mano Ranjan Panneerselvam (pictured) was critically injured in the accident
ADHD charity advocate Brett Smith, 36, from Milton Keynes, said the minibus was ‘filled with blood’ when he reached it, and spoke of his horror as he held a girl’s hand to comfort her. Pictured right, Mr Smith showing his injuries
Tributes: Dozens gathered at Cyriac’s local church in Sherwood, Nottingham yesterday afternoon for a special memorial service following the tragic news
Friends and family paid tribute to Mr Joseph – known as Benny – and described him as a hard-working family man.
Originally from Kerala in southern India, where he studied botany, he moved with his wife Ancy, 52, and their two children to the UK more than ten years ago. He set up his own business in 2008.
Friend Manu Zachariah, 45, said: ‘Cyriac was not like normal fathers.
‘He would love to spend his money and time on his children like none of his friends.
‘He was always very encouraging of their extra-curricular activities. He was an extraordinary father, and would do anything for his friends. He was always there for us and will be really missed.’
The road was closed for ten hours after the crash. The death toll is the highest from a crash on a British motorway since 1993, when 12 children and their teacher died in a crash on the M40.
Spokesmen for AIM Logistics and FedEx expressed sympathies to those who lost loved ones in the crash, and said they were assisting police with their inquiries. Police have appealed for witnesses.
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