A DELIVERY driver who caused the death of a student when he crashed his lorry into the back of his car was a methadone user with a history of having similar accidents, a court heard.

Foday Richard Koroma, known as Richie, died on the A1012 slip road on the London-bound A13 at about 9.40am on February 2 when his car was rammed from behind by a Mercedes articulated lorry being driven by Mark Williams.

Williams, who worked for Yodel, was jailed for four years at Basildon Crown Court after a judge heard there had been a “significant period of distraction or inattention” in the moments before the crash.

Mr Koroma, 23, from Basildon, was heading to the University of Greenwich in his Peugeot 307 and had slowed to about 12mph because of heavy traffic.

He was driving behind a Volvo articulated lorry in the left hand lane, which had also slowed.

Williams, 45, was driving directly behind Mr Koroma at 55mph and failed to break. He crashed into the Peugeot, which became “embedded” in the front of his vehicle after first smashing into the Volvo.

Dashcam footage from a Jaguar driving in the middle lane was played to the court which showed the moment of the crash and the immediate aftermath.

Christopher Paxton, prosecuting, said: “The footage shows that the defendant does not slow down at all and collides with the rear of Mr Koroma’s car, pushing it into the rear of the Volvo.

“He crashed into the rear of the Peugeot with such force that it became embedded in the front of his lorry.”

Mr Koroma died at the scene.

Mr Paxton said following the crash, Williams told police he was using methadone because of an addiction to heroin and crack cocaine, but refused to give a sample on four occasions.

He said the drug use had not been disclosed to Williams’ employers or the DVLA, but added that there was no evidence to suggest it influenced the crash.

He added: “The defendant had clearly failed to react to the slowing of traffic at the time and had not applied brakes.”

Williams admitted causing death by dangerous driving at a previous hearing.

Mr Paxton said Williams had been involved in two similar accidents with his previous employer in January and October 2015, where he had failed to brake and hit the vehicle in front.

Although the damage caused was minor, Williams was warned by bosses about failing to break in time but he was not prosecuted.

Judge David Owen-Jones said “light braking would have avoided the accident”.

Williams, of Tipton near Dudley, was handed a four year prison term and disqualified for three years, with a two year extension so it does not expire while he is in prison.

Speaking after the hearing, Det Sgt Pete Harris, from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This was a completely avoidable crash which has led to the death of an innocent man.

“Mark Williams’ recklessness has had devastating consequences.
“I cannot re-iterate strongly enough how big the impact is on a family when we have to tell them a loved one has died because of someone else’s actions.

“I am pleased Williams has now been put behind bars and I hope he uses that time to reflect on what he has done.

“I hope the sentence provides some solace to Mr Koroma’s family.”