A man has been sentenced to eight months imprisonment after striking a RAC recovery driver on the M6.
Terence Poolman, aged 69, from Shifnal in Shropshire, has been sentenced to eight months imprisonment after he struck a RAC recovery driver on the M6 northbound, between junction six and seven, on Monday 28th April last year.
The CCTV footage from scene shows Poolman striking the recovery driver, aged 40, who was securing a vehicle in an emergency refuge area at the time of the collision, he swerved into the inside lane and across the hard shoulder and ploughed into the worker before fleeing the area.
While Poolman drove off, another lorry driver saw the man in pain and pulled over to take care of the man who had broken his back in two places.
An investigation was launched shortly after to find the driver of the offending vehicle, whose registration had not been picked up by the motorway cameras.
PC David Gaunt, who led the hunt for the hit-and-run driver, said: "Without a registration number, we knew it would be almost impossible to bring the driver to justice.
The only lead we had was a branded catering van seen travelling directly behind Poolman’s lorry. We knew it was a long shot, but we decided to contact the company and ask them if any of their drivers had witnessed the incident and crucially, taken down the registration.
Astonishingly, one of them contacted us to say he had done and from there, we were able to trace Poolman."
Poolman was subsequently interviewed but claimed to have no memory of the collision whatsoever.
He was later charged with - and pleaded guilty to − causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Poolman was sentenced to eight months imprisonment and banned from driving for two years at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday (23/01).
PC Gaunt, said: “The recovery driver is extremely lucky to be alive and the consequences of Poolman’s complete lack of attention that day could have been a lot worse.
The victim remains in a lot of pain and has been unable to work since the crash. The impact of his injuries will stay with him for the rest of his life and he worries about what kind of work he will be able to do in the future.
In releasing the footage of the collision, we hope drivers will understand the responsibility they bear when they get behind the wheel and take steps − such as taking regular breaks, not starting a long trip if you’re tired or pulling over for a coffee − to ensure they are fully alert while driving."
