Tipper truck driver convicted after motorway gantry crash
Avon and Somerset Police say his actions could have been 'catastrophic'
Last updated 19th Jun 2024
Avon and Somerset Police say the consequences could have been catastrophic - as a man has been found guilty of dangerous driving on the M5 in Bristol.
It comes after a tipper truck hit an overhead gantry on March 2nd last year - and the motorway had to be shut in both directions for almost 14 hours.
48-year-old Anthony Baker from Downend in Gloucestershire denied the charge but has been convicted following a two-day trial at Bristol Crown Court.
He will be sentenced in August.
Police say Baker got behind the wheel of the 32-tonne lorry from a quarry in Flax Bourton and drove to a construction site at Cribbs Causeway. He deposited the load at the site before setting off again.
The jury were shown CCTV and dashcam clips showing the lorry being driven along Highwood Lane and the M5 south before the collision with the tipper truck bed raised.
Officers then started receiving calls from the public - and minutes later, the lorry struck an overhead gantry on the southbound carriageway.
The truck bed was detached from the rest of the lorry and one of the matrix signs fell onto the motorway. Fortunately, nobody was injured.
Baker, of Garnett Place, told officers during police interview he did not usually check the lorry bed had lowered after making a delivery but in hindsight stated he should have.
Baker added he did not see any other motorists signal to him to pull over and he was unaware of any mechanical malfunction that would have caused the issue.
He was released on bail and will be sentenced on Friday 2 August at the same court.
PC Ian Hudson, of the roads policing unit, said: “The consequences of this collision could have been catastrophic had the matrix sign hit a vehicle travelling at 70mph or the gantry collapsed onto a live motorway.
“Anthony Baker’s failure to perform even a basic check that the lorry bed had been lowered is inexplicable and put other road users in danger.
“Road safety is something everyone needs to have at the forefront of their minds when they get behind the wheel of any vehicle.”
Read more: M5 reopens after lorry collides with overhead gantry