Jose Carlos Da Silva Pereira, who is from Portugal, was exceeding the speed limit on the A19 when the tragedy happened
Lorry driver Jose Carlos Da Silva Pereira, above, and police at the scene of the crash on the northbound A19
A lorry driver responsible for a catastrophic crash which killed a much-loved grandfather has been sent to the Crown court to be sentenced.
Jose Carlos Da Silva Pereira, who is from Portugal, was exceeding the speed limit on the A19 when the tragedy happened.
A court heard how the Mercedes Benz heavy goods vehicle driven by Pereira smashed into the back of a Vauxhall Corsa.
It contained church minister Arthur Sanders, who had been travelling alone from the Manchester area to a job interview on August 6 last year.
The 79-year-old pulled over his car on the northbound carriageway of the A19 after receiving a phone call.
While he was stopped, his vehicle was struck by the Spanish-registered left-hand drive HGV driven by 54-year-old Pereira.
Teesside Magistrates’ Court was told how the lorry was travelling at 56mph, while the speed limit for HGVs on the A19 was 50mph.
Christopher Atkinson, prosecuting, told the court how the collision caused “catastrophic” damage to the Corsa, shunting it some distance down the road.
Passing members of the public stopped to offer first aid but tragically Mr Sanders had suffered injuries he couldn’t survive.
View gallery A19 northbound from Crathorne accident
View gallery
Mr Atkinson said the Crown’s case was that Pereira had time either to stop his vehicle or manoeuvre around Mr Sanders’ vehicle but he did neither.
During one police interview, Pereira claimed Mr Sanders had pulled out in front of him but the evidence showed this was not the case, said Mr Atkinson.
In a moving victim impact statement, Mr Sanders’ family described how they had been devastated by his death and said the pain would never go away.
They described Mr Sanders as a family man, a “wonderful” father, grandfather and friend who had also served as a minister.
Lesley Goodman, representing Pereira, said it was a mitigating feature of the case that the actions of Mr Sanders had contributed to what happened.
She said Pereira was a 54-year-old man of previous good character.
He had been a professional driver for more than 30 years and had an “impeccable” driving record, the court was told.
She said as a family man with children and grandchildren of his own he could empathise with the victim’s family and had shown genuine remorse.
Pereira, of Rua Cortegaca, Fornelos, Cinfaes, Portugal, was due to be sentenced when he appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court yesterday .
He had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of causing death by careless driving .
After hearing both the prosecution and defence cases and a victim impact statement, the magistrates retired to consider sentencing.
But when they returned they apologised to Mr Sanders’ family, saying unfortunately they would have to go through it all again.
They told Pereira that their sentencing powers were not sufficient to deal with the case and they were sending the case to the Crown court.
No date was fixed for the Crown court hearing and Pereira was given unconditional bail.
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