M11 crash driver jailed

Lorry driver Egon Boerner caused a massive pile-up

A German lorry driver who caused the deaths of four people, including a father and his two children, has been jailed for five years.

Chelmsford Crown Court was told that Egon Boerner, from Schmalcalden, had ignored regulations governing driving hours for lorry drivers.

His refrigerated Volvo lorry hit a line of stationary and slow-moving vehicles on the M11 in Essex.

Boerner, 48, had been driving excessively over a 43-hour period before the crash on 24 August last year.

Laura and Robert Dawson died in the accident

The first vehicle he hit was a Peugeot 206 driven by 45-year old salesman Roger Farley from Bexhill.

Mr Farley, the father of two teenaged children, died.

The other people who died were Martin Dawson from Beckenham in Kent, and his two children, Laura, 13, and Robert, nine.

Mr Dawson, 41, was in the front passenger seat of a Vauxhall Astra being driven by his partner, Celina Bolton.

The children were sitting in the back seat when the car was hit from behind and was rammed into the back of a car transporter.

Roger Farley's widow, Susan, said: "It's been devastating. It's ruined our lives, it's ruined the lives of our friends and relatives.

Egon Boerner admitted four charges against him

"We regard it as a needless accident and we know it's not an isolated case."

Ellen Clarkson, the mother of Laura and Robert Dawson, said: "We have got a life sentence and we have got to live with this the rest of our lives.

"It was such a needless accident to happen.

"With the drink-driving laws these days people appreciate you do not drink and drive, and people should appreciate you do not drive without adequate sleep or rest."

Boerner had pleaded guilty to four counts of causing death by dangerous driving at a previous hearing.