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A Royal Mail lorry driver nodded off at the wheel and killed a grandfather on his first nightshift after using his sleep breaks to watch videos on his phone, a court has heard.
Stefan-Alexandru Bloj’s 44-tonne lorry smashed into the back of David Sullivan’s Citroen Relay van at a roundabout in Southampton on November 17, 2020.
The port city’s crown court heard witnesses described the impact as being like an ‘explosion’, with ‘glass and debris everywhere’.
One performed CPR on Mr Sullivan, a grandad of six, until paramedics arrived but he suffered devastating injuries in the crash, which propelled his van up into the air, and later died.
Bloj, 34, from Southsea, Portsmouth, denies causing death by dangerous driving.
Jurors heard the agency worker only started with Royal Mail a week before the 8.30am smash, which came at the end of his first 12-hour night shift.
Tana Adkin KC, prosecuting, told them: ‘The defendant had slept for less than five hours during the 24-hour period prior to the collision.
‘He did not sleep in his breaks, and he used his time to speak to his partner and use his time to watch videos.
‘The defendant, driving through the night, would have known that he did not have enough sleep in the 24 hours.’
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She said Mr Sullivan had been driving south along the M271 towards Southampton.
‘The weather was fine, it wasn’t raining at the time and the sun had risen, visibility was good, and the road surface was dry,’ she added.
Moments after Mr Sullivan pulled up at the roundabout, Bloj’s lorry ploughed into the back of him, shunting his Relay forward into two other vehicles in a ‘domino effect’, Ms Adkin said.
Giving evidence, David Morris, who witnessed the crash from his own car, likened it to an ‘explosion’, with ‘glass and debris everywhere’.
He told the court: ‘The traffic was normal, and my lane was empty. I hung back a little and next thing I knew, there was an explosion. There was glass and debris everywhere.
‘I immediately pulled over. I opened the door to see the condition of the person. It wasn’t good.
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‘I opened the door and shouted to see if I could get any response. I climbed into the van. I wanted to get him out of the van, but this was impossible.
‘I continued doing [CPR], carried on shouting for a response but I didn’t get one.’
Married Mr Sullivan, from Wivelsfield Green, near Lewes, East Sussex, leaves behind a wife, two children, three stepchildren, and six grandchildren.
His family said he was ‘very sorely missed by everyone who knew and loved him’.
The trial at Southampton Crown Court continues.
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