Smart motorway system ‘was not working’ on the day of fatal crash

A ‘dangerous defect’ on a smart motorway system was the ‘overwhelming’ cause of a fatal crash which left a 68-year-old woman dead, a jury has heard.

Barry O’Sullivan was driving his grey Ford Transit Connect work van on March 7 2022 when he collided with a Nissan Micra being driven by Rajpal Dene, causing ‘calamitous’ damage.

The car had come to a stop on the outside lane of the M4 between junctions 11 and 12 at around 8.30am, but no warnings to other drivers about problems on the road had been activated, the court heard.

Ian Bridge, defending O’Sullivan, told jurors on Monday the defendant said the ‘dominant and overwhelming cause’ of the collision was the ‘dangerous defect’ in the Smart Motorway system.

‘The Smart Motorway stranded vehicles system had been defective for five days’, Mr Bridge said. ‘Mr O’Sullivan and all other road users were unaware that it was not working, they were driving along the motorway completely oblivious.

‘Not only were motorists unaware that the system had not been working and was defective, but it appears National Highways were also unaware.’

Mr Bridge added that 999 calls and 101 calls were not passed by Thames Valley Police call handlers to the National Highways control room.

‘No warnings as a consequence could be put on the 14 gantry and lollipop signs that were present on that motorway at the point where Ms Dene and Ms Dhillon found themselves stuck’, Mr Bridge said. ‘It appears that there were so many calls, the system was overwhelmed. 

‘You will have to decide whether or not somebody coming along that outside lane really caused or contributed at all or whether it was inevitable’, Mr Bridge told jurors. 

Ian Hope, prosecuting, told jurors: ‘The Crown accept the collusion probably would not have happened if the Smart Motorway system had been working properly. That must be right.

‘But we do not accept the collision was inevitable, neither do we accept that the collision which took place had to be so lethal.

‘The fact that the Smart Motorway was not working does not mean everyone is then allowed to drive how they like. You do not get to ignore the rules of the road because, for instance, the road should have been closed.’

Jurors were told how, while Ms Dene was pulled to safety by other motorists, Pulvinder Dhillon, the passenger in the Nissan, died after their car burst into flames and was ‘effectively incinerated’ prosecutors said.

Mr Hope had said: ‘Rajpal Dene had owned the car from new having bought it in the summer of 2020 and could not recall ever having any issues with it. She had topped it up with petrol that morning. For some unknown reason though the car failed. The engine failed, it quite literally lost power and came to a stop in the outside lane of the motorway, the fast lane.

‘This was a section of Smart Motorway and therefore it did not have a hard shoulder, although she lost power in the fast lane.’

Ms Dene activated her hazard lights and tried to get the car moving, calling her son who tried to search on-line for the fault and see if they could remedy it themselves, not realising the car ‘had come to a standstill on a live motorway lane and just how vulnerable they were’, the jury heard.

‘Police were notified of the fact of the stationary vehicle and a number of passing motorists made calls informing them,’ Mr Hope said.

He added the Nissan Micra was stationary, with its hazard lights on, for around six minutes before the fatal crash.

He added that while a ‘host’ of vehicles swerved to the left of the car when passing it, none of them collided with it, until O’Sullivan had driven directly into the Nissan.

The prosecutor said the defendant was not wearing a seat belt, the van – which an expert believed to have been in cruise control – was travelling at a constant recorded speed of 77mph for the five seconds before the deployment of the air bags.

Although there was a steer to the left, it commenced ‘less than half a second’ before the point of impact, Mr Hope said.

CCTV footage of the six minutes leading up to the incident played in court showed 35 other vehicles had either slowed to an almost complete stop behind the stranded car and slowly manoeuvred around it, or swerved out of the lane in time to avoid it.

The footage showed the defendant’s vehicle approach at a consistent speed until it collided with the victim’s vehicle, propelling both vehicles forwards at high velocity. 

O’Sullivan tested negative for any substances at the scene and told police another vehicle in front of him ‘swerved late’, after which he saw the stranded car, something prosecutors say was not shown on the CCTV.

In a later police interview, the defendant pointed out that he had ‘passed numerous gantries which had not signalled any problems on the road ahead’, something which Mr Hope said was correct, as ‘the smart motorway system was not working and therefore it was not showing any instructions about obstructions on the road ahead’.

But the court heard the Nissan had been in view to Mr O’Sullivan for a distance of around 260 metres, and so for in excess of 7 seconds.

Mr Hope added: ‘The Crown of course accept that the Nissan would never have been there but for a fault in the car about which we have no knowledge.

‘We similarly accept that Mr O’Sullivan is highly unlikely to have been cruising along in the fast lane in excess of 70 mph if the Smart Motorway system had been functioning at the time and that lane had been closed, for instance a red X as you will have seen using a motorway yourself.  

‘We fully accept that a driver does not expect to come upon a stationary vehicle in the outside lane of a motorway without warning but it is an unfortunate fact of life that such things do happen. People do suddenly break down. 

‘You don’t always get the warning you’d like to have or might even expect. All of those facts simply underline the need for us all to at least drive with due care and attention.  

‘Whatever was occupying Mr O’Sullivan’s mind in the seven or eight seconds leading up to this collision and for the 260 metres of sight line he had to the stranded Nissan we submit that the evidence proves that he was not focusing upon the vehicle in front of him and what was happening in the road-space around his vehicle and directly ahead, despite the speed at which he was travelling.’

O’Sullivan, of Wixams, Bedford, denies one count of causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving.

The trial continues.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Add as preferred source