WATCH: Shocking dash-cam footage shows moment lorry ploughs into stationary M6 traffic
Dramatic dash-cam footage has been released of the moment a lorry driver ploughed into stationary traffic on the M6 after apparently falling asleep at the wheel.
Mariusz Wlazlo drove his fully-laden HGV into the back of a VW Polo at 43mph between Junction 8 for the M5 and Junction 7 for Great Barr.
The VW Polo was sent flying into a Toyota Verso and the resulting clean-up closed the M6 southbound for 90 minutes.
WATCH the dash-cam footage here:
Wlazlo, an agency driver who was behind the wheel of an Eddie Stobart truck, told police at the scene: “I think I went to sleep for a moment. I can’t explain as I don’t remember. It was like a dream."
The Polo driver, a woman in her 50s, spent weeks in hospital where she was treated for broken ribs and fractures to vertebrae. She has been left too fearful to drive on motorways.
Meanwhile the Toyota driver was released from hospital after treatment for back and neck pain.
The footage from the lorry and from another nearby car shows how Wlazlo was accelerating at the point of impact.
After the crash on March 15 he was charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He admitted the offence at Wolverhampton Crown Court this week and was jailed for 16 months
The native Pole, of Alderwood Avenue, Liverpool, was also banned from driving for three years and eight months, and ordered to take an extended re-test.
Pc Gareth Phillips, of the Central Motorway Police Group, said: “The collision has had a devastating impact on the victim in the Polo.
“Although she has made a physical recovery, she now feels unable to drive on the motorway.
“Wlazlo was clearly not paying attention and indeed was accelerating into stationary traffic at the time of impact. It shows just how important it is to keep fully focussed on the road and surrounding conditions, and to always abide by the speed limit as displayed on gantry signs.
"If the speed he had been travelling had been any higher, this collision would likely have had fatal consequences."
West Midlands Police said Wlazlo, aged 47, held a full, clean UK driving licence and had no record of motoring offences in his home country of Poland.
He was in a 40mph zone of the M6 at the time of the crash which happened at around 9.40pm.
