Lorry driver jailed for riders' deaths

A lorry driver who caused an horrific crash that killed two motorcyclists from Rugeley has been jailed for three years.

Trucker Russell Wallace pulled out from Rugeley power station in front of a group of bike enthusiasts heading for a festival. One of them, Colin Millard, hit the lorry while his friend Alan Johnson swerved and hit a lamp post. Both were killed virtually instantly.

A jury at Stafford Crown Court last month ruled that Russell's manoeuvre, on the main Rugeley to Armitage Road, was dangerous.

They convicted Wallace, aged 61, of Post Office Lane, Rugeley, of two charges of causing death by dangerous driving. He appeared again before the court yesterday for sentencing.

Judge Simon Tonking told Wallace he was guilty of a "momentary lapse" but added: "The consequences were devastating."

The jury was told that Wallace pulled out from the old Rugeley power station on to the main road without stopping and failed to see the bikers. The smash happened on the main Rugeley to Armitage Road on 20 April last year.

Mr Millard, who was 49 and from Marchbanks, died from multiple injuries at the scene after hitting the lorry.

Mr Johnson, who was 47, and from Frank Gee Close, died at the scene from chest injuries. They were at the head of a group of eight heading to Skegness for a motorcycle festival.

Judge Tonking told Wallace: "The main cause of this accident your action in driving your lorry out on to the main road just as these motorcyclists were approaching. They must have been in your view for some seconds and it seems you simply didn't see them."

At the trial, Wallace maintained the accident was the fault of the bikers through speeding.

Along with the jail sentence, Wallace was also banned from driving for three years. Judge Tonking said the prison term was "not a value judgement about the lives of those two, innocent men."