A van driver has been found guilty of causing the death of a grandmother after crashing into her broken-down car on a smart motorway where the safety alert system had malfunctioned. Barry O'Sullivan, 45, was driving a Ford Transit Connect work van along the M4 during rush hour on March 7, 2022, when he collided with a stationary Nissan Micra in the outside lane.
The force of the impact propelled both vehicles forward, and the Nissan burst into flames, killing passenger Pulvinder Dhillon. An unresolved technical failure on the smart motorway network meant alerts for broken-down vehicles had not been communicated for five days prior to the crash, the court heard.
Defence lawyers argued that O'Sullivan could not have caused the death because the crash was inevitable given the stationary car in the fast lane and the absence of warning signs. However, the prosecution contended that O'Sullivan drove carelessly and at speed, failing to notice cues such as other motorists taking avoiding action.
Ms Dhillon's daughter, Rajpal Dene, had turned on the hazard lights and for about six minutes, a number of vehicles swerved and braked to avoid the stationary car. Several motorists had also called the police. O'Sullivan was driving at 74 to 80mph in the five seconds before the collision and took no apparent avoiding action.
The prosecutor described the force of impact as calamitous, with both vehicles propelled forward at high velocity. While Mrs Dene was pulled to safety by other motorists, Ms Dhillon died at the scene. O'Sullivan was convicted of causing death by careless driving after more than six hours of jury deliberation.
