A lorry driver caused a fatal head-on collision when he drove on the wrong side of the road shortly after stopping off for a break, Lincoln Crown Court heard on Wednesday.
Tiberiu Dori parked up for 40 minutes in a layby alongside the A15 near Cranwell before setting off to continue his journey to Wiltshire.
But within a minute, his Volvo HGV was on the wrong side of the road and he struck an approaching BMW being driven by respected RAF serviceman Chris Showell.
Cpl Showell, who was on his way to work as a chef at RAF Waddington, had no chance to avoid a collision with the front of his vehicle ending up embedded in the lorry. He suffered fatal injuries.
Andrew Scott, prosecuting, said that Dori was working a night shift and had driven a lorry load of eggs from Chippenham to Milton Keynes, where he dropped them off at a Waitrose store.
He then continued his shift driving on to Scopwick where he picked up a new load of 300,000 eggs and was heading back to his base at Chippenham.
Mr Scott said: “The collision occurred on Mr Showell’s side of the road. The Volvo lorry was completely on the wrong side of the road.”
The prosecutor said Dori had parked in a layby on the opposite side of the road to the carriageway he was driving in and the more likely reason for what happened is that he set off after his break on the wrong side of the road.
The fatal collision occurred just 200 metres from the layby.
“The defendant was perhaps operating on auto-pilot thinking he was driving on the continent.
“The other possibility is that Dori was driving on his correct side of the road and has then allowed his vehicle to drift onto the wrong side of the road. The prosecution does not have all the pieces of the jigsaw and accepts it is impossible to say what happened.”
Mr Scott said that the more likely scenario is that Dori set off on the wrong side of the road.
The court heard that tests showed Dori had not been drinking or taking alcohol and he was not speeding. His mobile phone was checked and he had not been using it at the time of the collision. The lorry tachograph records showed he was driving within his permitted hours.
Dori denied that he had travelled on the wrong side of the road from leaving the layby and said that he set off on his correct side and then ended up on the opposite carriageway.
He admitted responsibility for the fatal collision and his barrister Christopher Martin said: “He genuinely cannot explain why the collision occurred.
“He was driving at 29mph at the point of the collision. He had travelled 200 metres. The time taken to travel that distance was less than a minute.”
Mr Martin said Dori drove 60,000 miles a year for work and had an exemplary driving record with a clean licence both in the UK and in his native country of Romania.
“He was intending to drive to the nearest petrol station and get himself a coffee. He does not know how his vehicle went onto the wrong side of the road.”
Dori, 34, of Devizes, Wiltshire, admitted causing death by dangerous driving as a result of the collision on the A15 at Dunsby Hollow, Lincolnshire, just before 5am on April 16, 2020.
He was jailed for 20 months and banned from driving for two years and 10 months. He was also ordered to pass an extended retest before he can legally drive again.
Recorder Charles Falk said he could not be certain of the circumstances and he sentenced on the basis that Dori set off on his correct side of the road and then went onto the wrong side.
The Recorder told Dori: “Driving an HGV completely on the wrong side of a fast moving road is obviously going to have devastating consequences for anyone coming the other way.
“All I can be sure about is that this was a few minutes of inattention but as a professional driver this was a serious lapse.”
“Christopher Showell never stood a chance. There was a head-on collision and in all likelihood he died instantly. His death is entirely your fault.
Cpl Showell’s fiancee Annie Hickman, in a victim impact statement, said she has been left devastated by his death.
“I miss him every minute of every day. His laughter, his amazing food, his love and kindness. I will love and miss him every day for the rest of my life.”
Lincolnshire Police said they do not have a custody photo of Tiberiu Dori.
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West Lindsey District Council will get £10 million from the government as part of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Autumn budget to help regenerate Gainsborough.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak outlined his Autumn budget on Wednesday, which had nearly £30 million of levelling up funding dedicated to Lincolnshire.
£19.6 million was awarded to Lincolnshire County Council for improvement works on the A16 corridor between Spalding and Boston, while £10.3 million of the total £4.8 billion government fund will go towards improvements in Gainsborough.
Designs for the new cinema in the old Lindsey Centre in Gainsborough. | Image: WLDC
West Lindsey District Council hopes that with this funding, which will be spent by 2024, can help projects including
A new four-screen Savoy cinema, redeveloping the old Lindsey Centre site, three commercial units and a car park.
Improving Whitton’s Gardens, creating a new park at the Baltic Mill
Refurbishing the bus station
Creating new homes in the town centre above shops
Improving the Market Place as the centre piece of town where people can enjoy outdoor dining, visit our traditional twice weekly street market and meet with friends and family.
The successful funding bid was treated with a wholly positive reaction from councillors, including leader of WLDC Owen Bierley, who said: “We are aware of how competitive this funding was, and how many local authorities had submitted proposals, so needless to say we are absolutely delighted that we have been awarded the full allocation of our bid.
“This amount of money can have a real benefit to our community, and I want to thank all the officers involved for putting together and submitting such a robust, strong plan.”
Gainsborough MP Edward Leigh.
Sir Edward Leigh MP – who supported the bid and personally spoke to ministers to assist with the bid – added: “This project will have an incredible impact on Gainsborough, offering a chance for the town to get investment that will really make people sit up and take notice.
“This town deserves it, and I am absolutely delighted and cannot wait to see the work taking place.”
Mablethorpe’s first large Tesco superstore opened on Thursday.
The 20,000 square foot superstore created 115 new jobs in the coastal town and seven colleagues joined the team after completing the regeneration programme working with People Plus England.
The supermarket will be open 7am-11pm Monday to Saturday, and 10am-4pm on Sundays.
The local mayor was among those present at the opening of Mablethorpe’s new Tesco superstore.
It is also part of Tesco’s Community Food Connection (CFC) which takes surplus food, that is still fit for use, and donates it daily to local groups and food banks to help those who need it most in the community.
Tesco presented three charities and community programmes – Mablethorpe Primary Academy, Furnichurch, and Springwell Community Learning – with special grant donations of £1,000 each at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new supermarket on Friday, October 28.
Officially opening the new Tesco superstore in Mablethorpe.
The car park at the new Tesco superstore in Mablethorpe.
Liz Stewart, Store Manager, said: “We are incredibly proud to support these very special local charities and to have presented them with the community grants today. We know this money will make a real difference to the groups.
“We are extremely excited to have opened our Mablethorpe superstore. The new store offers the local community a brilliant service, Changing Places Facility, F&F clothing and a broad range of products, as well as available free-to-use EV charging points. We look forward to welcoming our first customers.”
Two men were cautioned last weekend after being caught in possession of ketamine in Lincoln, with police praising clubs and bars for putting measures in place to combat the increase in spiking incidents.
Officers on patrol in the city centre were called to reports of a man believed to be in possession of Ketamine at Home nightclub just after midnight on Saturday, October 23.
Police praised Home for their proactive approach and for having some of the most stringent processes and policies in place.
Following a search, a 20-year-old man was given a caution for possession. He was also arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and released under investigation.
Officers on patrol in the city centre at 2.17am on Sunday, October 24 were alerted to reports of a man in possession of drugs at The Scene in Lincoln after someone reported being unwell.
A 21-year-old was given a caution for the possession of Ketamine and was given a caution.
Lincoln Police said in a social media post: “Clubs and bars in the city are putting every possible measure in place to combat the increase in spiking incidents being reported.
“Credit to the staff at Home nightclub who may have some of the most stringent processes and policies in place to ensure the safety of the customers.
“Thanks to their proactive approach on Saturday, October 23 a male was arrested with a considerable quantity of suspected Ketamine.
“The venues and ourselves will continue to work tirelessly to make the night time economy as safe as possible and everything that could be done is being done.”
This comes as men and women prepared to boycott bars and nightclubs in Lincoln on Wednesday evening due to concerns about the rise in ‘spiking’ incidents — with at least eight reported this month in Lincoln.
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