A van driver who killed a woman after crashing into the back of a broken-down car on a smart motorway where the safety alert system was malfunctioning has been spared jail.
Barry O’Sullivan, 45, was driving a grey Ford work van along the M4 when he collided with a Nissan Micra that had come to a halt in the fast lane of the motorway on March 7, 2022.
The collision – which took place during the morning rush hour on the M4 westbound between junctions 11 and 12 – caused both vehicles to propel forward, with the Nissan bursting into flames.
Pulvinder Dhillon, 68, who was a passenger in her daughter’s Micra, suffered fatal injuries.
O’Sullivan was found guilty at an earlier trial of causing Mrs Dhillon’s death by careless driving.
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He was sentenced on Friday to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.
It was later discovered that an unresolved technical failure on the M4 smart motorway network meant radar alerts for broken-down vehicles were not being properly communicated to the control room – and had not been for five days before the crash.
But Judge Amjad Nawaz, sentencing at Reading Crown Court on Friday, said the absence of warnings lights should not detract from a driver’s duty to remain alert at all times.
‘Every driver owes the duty of care to other users,’ Judge Nawaz said.
‘The fact that there was no warning lights does not detract from that duty in any way.
‘Nothing the defendant said explained why he didn’t see the car ahead.
‘There were plenty of cues, and no evidence of slowing down.’
The prosecution had previously told the court that O’Sullivan did not pick up on ‘cues’ that the vehicle was stationary – including the fact that other motorists were taking steps to avoid the broken-down Nissan.
The judge also said O’Sullivan’s driving that day showed ‘a lack of attention’, adding: ‘There was distraction.
‘What it was that was causing the distraction, we simply do not know.’
The court heard O’Sullivan suffered severe injuries in the crash, with his life expectancy having been reduced as a result.
In an impact statement read out to court by prosecutor Ian Hope, the victim’s youngest son, Manvir Dhillon, said his mother was his ‘best friend’ and that their family was struggling to move on from her sudden loss.
‘Just the day before this horrific incident, she had been at a party, dancing away and living her life to the fullest, as she had always done,’ the statement read.
‘One day she was dancing and the next she is no longer alive. How could we ever forget this and move on?
‘It was so sudden and although it has nearly been four years, we are still unable to fully process this.’
Part of the statement was addressed directly to O’Sullivan, and was also read out in court.
It said: ‘We know you hadn’t set off that morning to take someone’s life but the fact of the matter is that you did.
‘Where is your driving standards, your training? All of these questions remained unanswered because you refuse to admit blame.
‘I am not saying you are the only one to blame but you did have a major part to play.
‘I would have rather you came to me at the very least and admitted you made a mistake or weren’t paying attention.
‘I can’t say I’d sympathise but I’d be able to relate as I know how easy it is to lose attention when driving on a long stretch of road.’
In the defendant’s statement, read out by defence barrister Ian Bridge, O’Sullivan expressed his remorse, saying: ‘My heart aches for the family of Pulvinder Dhillon.
‘There is not a day I do not think about how sorry I am about this situation.
‘This is something that will truly haunt me forever.’
O’Sullivan, of Wixams, near Bedford, was also told he will be disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Speaking outside of court after the sentencing, he said: ‘Nobody’s won – everybody’s suffered needlessly.’
He added he believes National Highways have ‘just washed their hands of blatant negligence’, and has submitted a complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), which is in process.
A National Highways spokesperson said: ‘Any death on our roads is one too many and our thoughts are with the family and friends of Pulwinder Dhillon following this tragic incident.
‘While nothing can ever compensate for that loss, the person responsible has been convicted of driving carelessly.’
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