Lorry driver, 54, faces jail for killing father-of-11 when he lost control of his HGV while putting in EYE DROPS at the wheel
Rajesh Patel, 54, smashed into the back of a broken down truck leaving tragic Nigel Blount, 62, unable to avoid colliding with him
A LORRY driver is facing jail for causing a crash which killed a father-of-11 - when he lost control while putting in his EYE DROPS.
Rajesh Patel, 54, smashed into the back of a broken down truck leaving tragic Nigel Blount, 62, unable to avoid colliding with him.
Fellow Lorry driver Blount was trapped for an hour before being cut free by firefighters and rushed to hospital with serious trauma injuries, including fractured ribs and vertebrae.
He died in hospital five weeks later from an infection but doctors said the spinal trauma injuries he had suffered in the crash were "a major contribution to his death".
A court heard Patel told paramedics who treated him after the crash that he had been putting some eye drops in.
The trucker later told police that was a reference to medication and general and claimed he wasn't doing so at the time of the smash.
Patel, of Sutton Coldfield, West Mids., denied causing death by dangerous driving but was found guilty by a jury at Warwick Crown Court.
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Judge Stephen Eyre QC adjourned the case for a pre-sentence report but warned the lorry driver that he faced a prison sentence.
The court heard the fatal smash happened on the northbound carriageway of the A46 near Tollbar Island in Coventry, West Mids., at around midday on March 5 last year.
Prosecutor Walter Bealby told the jury driver Andrew Jones had pulled over his broken down Volvo as far as he could after his wagon began to vibrate.
But with no hard shoulder, the offside of his truck was still jutting out into the nearside lane of the dual carriageway.
The court heard he was sat in the passenger side of his cab with the hazard warning lights on when there was "an almighty crash" and he was thrown out of the lorry.
After the jury returned its unanimous guilty verdict, Mr Bealby said Mr Blount, who lived in Derby, and his wife Christine had 11 children and "numerous grandchildren".
He read out the last part of a statement from Mrs Blount where she said: "The family would like to take this opportunity to thank the police for all their support and kindness at such a dreadful time in our lives.
"We would also like to thank the staff in the critical care unit at University Hospital in Coventry for their care of Nigel in the five weeks he was with them."
Patel was granted bail until his sentencing at a later date.
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