Families speak of unending grief after loved ones die in M1 horror crash nottinghampost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nottinghampost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The widow of a motorist who died on a smart motorway has called for police to investigate Highways England after a coroner said her husband could have survived a crash on the M1 if there was a hard shoulder.
Claire Mercer, whose 44-year-old husband Jason died on the M1 along with delivery driver Alexandru Murgeanu, 22, said she hoped the inquest would be a catalyst for an investigation into possible corporate manslaughter charges.
Mrs Mercer, from Rotherham, 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.
Smart motorways present an ongoing risk of future deaths , a coroner has concluded, following an inquest into the deaths of two men on a stretch of the M1 with no hard shoulder.
Sheffield coroner David Urpeth said the primary cause of death of Jason Mercer, 44, and Alexandru Murgeanu, 22, on the M1 in South Yorkshire in June 2019 was the careless driving of lorry driver Prezemyslaw Szuba.
Szuba, 40, ploughed into their vehicles as they stood stationary in lane one following a minor shunt.
But, recording a conclusion of unlawful killing, Mr Urpeth said: I find, as a finding of fact, it is clear a lack of hard shoulder contributed to this tragedy.