Scunthorpe man admits M42 death crash

A Scunthorpe man has admitted killing a motorist whose car had broken down in the middle of a five-lane motorway.

Although other drivers managed to steer round Jerome Tennant’s black Toyota on a motorway in the Midlands, he was killed when a Mercedes driven by Scunthorpe man Sheikh Munim-Ashad ploughed into the back of the vehicle.

And at Warwick Crown Court, Munim-Ashad, 20, of Porter Street, Scunthorpe, pleaded guilty to causing 51-year-old Mr Tennant’s death by careless driving.

The fatal crash took place at about 11pm on August 2 last year on a five-lane section of the M42 just before junction nine at Water Orton in north Warwickshire.

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Mr Tennant had travelled by train from his home in Marine Road, Abergele, north Wales, to buy the second-hand Toyota, and was driving it back home.

On the way, he phoned his wife to say he was not happy with the way the car was performing – and it broke down in the middle of five lanes on the M42 near its junction with the M6.

Although other drivers avoided the stranded car, the Mercedes E320 being driven by Munim-Ashad ploughed into the back of it, killing Mr Tennant and injuring a woman and three children in the Mercedes.

The case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared on Munim-Ashad, who was granted bail with conditions of residence at his home address and co-operating with the probation service.

Prosecutor Neil Bannister pointed out that the penalties for the offence include a mandatory disqualification, and that the judge could impose an interim ban.

But judge Trevor Faber did not do so after being told by Munim-Ashad’s barrister Robert Hodgkinson that it would cause problems because “he drove here today.”

The judge told Munir-Ashad: “I will leave it to the sentencing judge. But the fact I am giving you bail and asking for a pre-sentence report is no indication of the sentence which will be imposed.”