March 4, 2022 4.07 pm This story is over 24 months old

Lincolnshire lorry driver jailed for causing woman’s death in M62 crash

He’d been sending messages on his mobile
Lincolnshire lorry driver Nicholas Liever was jailed for causing the death of 51-year-old Karen McDonagh. | Photo: West Yorkshire Police

A Lincolnshire lorry driver has been jailed for four years and four months after causing the death of a 51-year-old woman in a multiple vehicle crash on the M62 motorway.

Nicholas Liever, 49, of Clifton Road in Fishtoft, was driving a Volvo HGV which collided with a Volkswagen Passat, an Iveco Vehicle Transporter and a Volkswagen Touareg at around 10.40am on September 5, 2019. The crash happened on the eastbound carriageway in Huddersfield.

The driver of the Passat – 51-year-old Karen McDonagh from Goole – suffered injuries which sadly proved to be fatal.

An investigation by West Yorkshire Police’s major collision enquiry team found that Liever had been exchanging messages in the time leading up to the collision. This included sending the last one at around the time of the crash.

It was also found that he had attempted to delete the data from his phone, but this was retrieved by a specialist investigator.

In an interview, Liever told police that he was not distracted at the time of the collision and claimed that it was unavoidable.

On Thursday, March 3, Liever appeared at Leeds Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He was sentenced to four years and four months in prison.

After the sentencing Detective Constable Jenny Stanley, of the major collision enquiry team, said: “This is yet another example of how dangerous using a mobile phone at the wheel of a moving vehicle can be.

“Liever has admitted responsibility for causing this collision and now has some time to reflect on his actions, which resulted in the death of a much-loved family member and impacted on the lives of those involved in what was a traumatic incident.

“Our sympathies remain with the family of Karen McDonagh and we hope that this outcome will give them some comfort.”