An HGV driver has been jailed for 30 months after his dangerous driving caused a collision, which left a girl, now aged 10, unable to think, talk or walk again.

Dominic Nicholls from Inkerman Terrace, Hadleigh, also caused serious injury to two other members of the same family when the HGV he was driving crashed into the rear of the family's Nissan X-Trail that was stationery on the hard-shoulder after breaking down on the M42 northbound in April 2022.   

Nicholls, 53, was disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for seven years and will have to pass an extended driving test to drive again.

He was also ordered to pay £190 Victim Surcharge during his sentencing at Warwick Crown Court on 19 October 2023.

The family were travelling to their home in Stafford from Heathrow Airport after returning from a family holiday in Sri Lanka.

A warning light had appeared on the dashboard and so, the family pulled over on to the hard shoulder to investigate the issue. In the vehicle was a family of four including the then eight-year-old daughter (rear offside passenger) and five-year-old son (rear nearside passenger).

Nicholls was travelling about a minute behind in the same direction in his 40 tonne HGV and for reasons unknown, the lorry drifted onto the hard shoulder at 55mph and collided with the rear of the X-Trail before the family had time to exit the vehicle.

As a direct result of this collision all four occupants of the X-Trail were injured – most seriously the eight-year-old daughter (now 10 years old) who suffered life threatening injuries and was taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital.

She survived the collision but will suffer for the rest of her life. She will be unable to think, talk or walk again and will have to use a wheelchair. 

She will need a carer for the rest of her life.

Her mother and father were also seriously injured and their five-year-old son suffered minor injuries in the collision.

PC Craig Pearson of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: "This is a very sad and tragic case. 

"Mr Nicholls has never provided an explanation for why he allowed his HGV to travel directly onto the hard shoulder towards the family's X-Trail car, the overall responsibility for the speed and control of the vehicle must lay entirely within the hands of its driver – Dominic Nicholls.

"The dash cam footage from the HGV shows that Mr Nicholls makes no attempt to brake or take avoiding action prior to the collision. The standard of driving falls far below that expected of a careful and competent driver. 

"We hope this sentence brings some comfort to the family whose lives have been devastated by what happened that day."