Bereaved father demands jail for drivers who kill

The father of a pregnant teenager who died after her car was struck by a Dutch truck is campaigning for a change in the law to ensure drivers who kill are sent to jail. Rachel Ward, 19, died last July when her Ford Ka was hit by an artic on the M6.

Josephus Embregts from Breda in the Netherlands was charged with causing death by dangerous driving. When he appeared at Warwick Crown Court Embregts pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of careless driving and was fined £1,000 with six licence points.

Ward's father Anthony hopes that a petition which so far has over 8,000 signatures will persuade the government to change the law to ensure that those that kill due to careless driving are sent to prison. "It's not right that a driver can kill someone on the roads and then just be fined," he says. "There needs to be some justice."

• To add your name to the petition send a letter to 34 Epsom Close, Bedworth, Nuneaton Warwickshire CV12 8TE.