HGV driver that crashed into stationary cop car sentenced

An HGV driver who hit a stationary police car attending a broken-down BMW on a busy A-road has been sentenced in court.

Three roads policing officers were dealing with the stranded car on the London bound carriageway of the A13, between the Stanford-Le-Hope interchange and the Orsett Cock roundabout, in June, last year.

When they arrived at the scene, they placed their vehicle in a ‘fend off’ position in the left-hand lane with blue lights flashing, about 35 metres from the breakdown.

With the BMW difficult to move, its occupants were asked to wait behind the barrier at the side of the road to await recovery.

Within minutes a loud bang was heard when a heavy goods vehicle (HGV), being driven by 62-year-old David Boca, struck the marked, Vauxhall Astra car.

The impact pushed the patrol car across the carriageway coming to rest at the central reservation barrier, now facing the oncoming traffic.

“This collision was completely avoidable,” said Essex Police’s head of roads policing, Adam Pipe.

"A police car was positioned as both a warning and a means of creating a safety barrier between moving traffic and the breakdown, so as to prevent an incident.

“Drivers who don’t follow instructions or remain unaware of their surroundings risk putting everyone, including, themselves in danger too.”

“Thankfully, no one was injured that day,” he added. “It doesn’t bear thinking about if someone had been struck by the lorry instead of the car.”