Trucker jailed for avoidable fatal collision

An HGV driver has been jailed for two years after he was involved in a fatal collision with a motorcyclist on the M20.

Mateusz Pietrow had pleaded not guilty to causing death by careless driving after his artic collided with Alan Short when he moved into the outside lane of the motorway on 22 September 2019.

However, following a three-day trial this month at Maidstone Crown Court, he was found guilty and sentenced to prison.

The court heard Pietrow had been driving along the westbound carriageway of the M20 close to the slip road for junction eight.

When traffic slowed he changed lanes and increased his speed above the 50mph limit and during this manoeuvre he hit 56-year-old Short, who fell to the carriageway and suffered critical injuries.

He was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Pietrow was also disqualified from driving for four years and following this he will be required to take an extended test.

Police Sergeant Peter Greaves of Kent police’s serious collision investigation unit said the collision was “wholly avoidable”.

He said: ‘Pietrow was a professional driver who should have been regularly looking in his mirrors to remain aware of other vehicles near his lorry.

“If he had done this, he would have known about the presence of the motorcycle to his offside and not moved between lanes.”