Speeding trucker jailed for causing serious injuries

Chris Tindall
June 13, 2023



An HGV driver has been jailed after speeding on a Kent road and colliding with a car, leaving two women with life-changing injuries.

Sergejs Mikulovs was convicted of dangerous driving offences after his artic crossed onto the wrong side of the road near Mereworth and collided with a car heading in the opposite direction.

The collision occurred on
12 July 2021 as Mikulovs was driving the lorry along Seven Mile Lane and heading towards a depot in Paddock Wood.

Police said he lost control of his vehicle while attempting to negotiate a bend near the junction with Willow Wents and collided with a Vauxhall Corsa, causing the car to catch fire and forcing it onto a grass verge.

A woman and her adult daughter had both been inside the vehicle. They were treated at the scene, before being taken to a London hospital with serious injuries.

A police investigation established that when Mikulovs lost control of the lorry it had reached a speed of almost 60mph, on a stretch of road which had a maximum legal limit
of 50mph.

Mikulovs pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and at Maidstone Crown Court he was sentenced to 22 months’ imprisonment.

He was also disqualified from driving for almost three years and will have to take an extended test.

PC Chris Oliver-Jones of the serious collision investigation
unit said: “Sergejs Mikulovs was simply going too fast to safely negotiate a stretch of road he had travelled several times and knew very well.”

About the Author

img

Chris Tindall

Chris Tindall started writing for the haulage and logistics industry in 2002 and has covered a broad range of significant issues, including GPS jamming by criminals, platooning and Brexit.

Share this article

axle
bodytype
cabtype
Emissions
Vehicle Type
make
model
;