SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017 CAMBRIDGE-NEWS.CO.

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STORM AND COW
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LEISURE IMPRESS
MEMORIES ON PAGES 16&17
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FAMILIES TORN
APART
BY A14
DEATH Jason Louis, above, and Daniel
Marshall died instantly

CRASH CAR TRANSPORTER DRIVER JAILED

AFTER KILLING TWO FRIENDS PAGE 5
CCN-EO1-S2
cambridge-news.co.uk
Driver who killed two men in
crash is jailed for 16 months
RACHAEL MCMENEMY
Reporter
rachael.mcmenemy@
cambridge-news.co.uk
THE driver of a car trans-
porter who caused the deaths
of two “family men” when his
vehicle crushed their van
“beyond recognition” has
been jailed for 16 months.
Stephen Widdowson, 50, of
Houghton-le-Spring, Sunder-
land, was driving a Volvo car
transporter when it collided
with a Transit van and created
a ‘concertina effect’ with two
other lorries on the A14 near
Swavesey.
Jason Louis, 31, of Wor-
thington Close, Stilton, and
Daniel Marshall, 37, of May-
field Road, Hartford, were
killed instantly in the crash on
April 20, 2016.
Mr Louis’s wife Louise –
who told Cambridge Crown
Court the couple had been
trying for a baby and wanted
to renew their wedding vows
shortly before the crash – said
her “whole life had been
destroyed” in seconds.
She also described how her
autistic 10-year-old son had
become more withdrawn fol-
lowing his dad’s death.
Mr Marshall’s sister, Rebec-
ca, said the crash had “ripped
her family apart” and left
them with “a future full of
grief and heartbreak”.
She directed some of her
comments directly at Wid-
dowson saying : “I want you to
know how much you have
taken from us.
“People say time is a healer
but time will never heal what
you have taken from us.”
Sentencing Widdowson for
causing death by careless or
inconsiderate driving, Judge
David Farrell said the force of
the collision “crushed the
transit beyond recognition”.
The court heard how Wid-
dowson had been a profes-
sional HGV driver for 30
years.
Prosecuting, Georgina
Gibbs said he had been weav-
ing across lanes prior to the
crash before straightening up
immediately before the col-
lision.
In a police interview fol-
lowing the crash, Widdowson
claimed a lapse of concen-
tration was down to him
sneezing “six or seven times”,
or when he tried to switch
from listening to a CD to the
radio.
Judge Farrell added: “You
may have been distracted
from the change of CD to
radio, though it’s clear to me
you were not concentrating
on the road ahead as you
should have been.
“You are a professional
driver, driving a HGV, and
should have been paying
attention.”
Defending, Mr Lee Fish said
Widdowson had “genuine
remorse” over the crash.
He added: “He has to live
with what he has done for the
rest of his life.
“That doesn’t compare to
the grief of the families of
these two men. He is aware of
that and he is very much
struggling to come to terms
with what happened.”
CCN-EO1-S2 CAMBRIDGE NEWS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017 5
News
Crash victims Jason Louis, above, and Daniel Marshall, left
Widdowson sobbed in the
dock as Mr Fish spoke about
how the deaths of Mr Louis
and Mr Marshall were a pun-
ishment of their own.
Sentencing Widdowson to
16 months in prison for each
charge of causing death by
careless or inconsiderate
driving, to run concurrently,
Judge Farrell said: “Immedi-
ately in front of you was the
white van with Louis and
Marshall.
“They were slowing. You
failed to see that and you
drove into the rear of the tran-
sit, braking only half a second
before the effect of the col-
lision, then crushed the van
between the front of your
vehicle and the rear of the
vehicle in front of that.
“The force of the collision
crushed the transit beyond
recognition and caused tragic
loss of life.”
He added: “Nothing I can
do will turn the clocks back or
reflect the loss of life or loss
those two families have suf-
fered.
“This is not a case of death
by dangerous driving but of
death by careless driving.”
Widdowson was also hand-
ed a two-year driving ban,
extended for eight months.
Widdowson initially
entered a not guilty plea
before changing his plea in
September.
In sentencing Judge Farrell
gave him credit for saving the
families of Mr Louis and Mr
Marshall a trial, but said not
entering a guilty plea earlier
extended the suffering of the
victims’ families.