Two who died in smart motorway crash were "unlawfully killed", coroner rules

Rotherham man Jason Mercer (44, pictured above with wife Claire) and Alexandru Murgeanu (22), from Mansfield, died after a heavy goods vehicle - driven by Prezemyslaw Szuba (40) from Hull - crashed into their vehicles after they stopped following a minor collision on a "live-running" lane on the Northbound carriageway of the M1.

Sheffield Senior Coroner, Mr David Urpeth, concluded today that Szuba - who was jailed for ten months last October after he admitted causing the death by careless driving of Mr Mercer and Mr Murgeanu - was the primary factor in the results of their deaths.

But he added: “Having considered all of the evidence, I find on the balance of probability, that Mr Mercer and Mr Murgeanu were unlawfully killed.

“I believe that as things currently stand, smart motorways present an ongoing risk of future deaths.”

Giving his concluding statement at Sheffield Town Hall this afternoon after the day-long hearing, Mr Urpeth confirmed he would be issuing a Prevention of Future Deaths report to both The Secretary of State for Transport and Highways England. 

He added that his concerns following this inquest included the absence of a hard shoulder on motorways, the confusion over smart motorways and traditional motorways and a lack of drivers awareness of the rules surrounding a smart motorway.

Mr Urpeth also called for a wider inquiry into smart motorways.

Claire Mercer, Mr Mercer’s widow, who has been campaigning against smart motorways since her husband’s death, attended the proceedings with her legal team. 

Speaking after the hearing, she said: “After more than a year-and-a-half of campaigning, I today feel that somebody has listened and finally taken steps to address the use of these death trap roads. 

“Ever since Jason died, I have been determined to bring about change to ensure more families don’t go through the heartbreak of losing a loved one by the completely nonsensical removal of hard shoulders on busy motorways, without adequate safeguards being in place. 

“I am grateful to coroner David Urpeth for finally calling for a wider review of the use of smart motorways and for his conclusion that the way they operate was a contributory factor in Jason’s death.” 

Earlier in the hearing, Szuba - who was answering questions over the phone from Doncaster Prison - had told the hearing he accepted the fact he wasn’t paying attention, but added: “If there was a hard shoulder on this bit of motorway, the collision would have been avoidable.”

Szuba also said he had received no extra training in driving on a smart motorway.

Sgt Mark Brady, who oversees major collision investigations for South Yorkshire Police, told the hearing that a Ford Transit van and a Ford Focus had stopped in lane one of the northbound carriageway of the four-lane M1 just north of Junction 34 at Meadowhall, and that both men had got out of their vehicles.

He said the vehicles had been stationary for around six minutes when they were hit by Szuba’s Mercedes lorry, which was travelling at a 56mph - the maximum permitted speed for his type of vehicle. 

Sgt Brady said: “Having looked at his (Szuba’s) driving, if there was a hard shoulder, had Jason and Alexandru pulled on to the hard shoulder, my opinion is that Mr Szuba would have driven right past.”

But the officer added that he accepted the primary cause of the crash was Szuba not paying attention to the road.

Asked if the collision would have been avoidable had a hard shoulder been there, Max Brown, head of road design nationally for Highways England and design for smart motorways, initially said his honest opinion was that “it was too close to call”.

This went against the answer of his colleague Simon Boyle, head of service delivery for South Yorkshire for Highways England.

But Mr Brown later agreed, following further questioning from Mrs Mercer’s legal team, that on the balance of probabilities, the collision may not have happened if a hard shoulder had been in place.

A postmortem report said the cause of death for both Mr Mercer and Mr Murgeanu was multiple injuries - which Mr Urpeth said he would adopt as the formal cause of death.