Bristol lorry driver who hit M5 portal convicted of dangerous driving

A tipper lorry driver has been convicted of dangerous driving after crashing into an overhead gantry on the M5 near Bristol. The crash resulted in an “explosion-like” noise around the motorway on March 2 last year.

The M5 was closed for around 14 hours due to fears the portal could collapse. between the portal and the road surface.

Anthony Baker, 48 and from Downend, denied the charge but was convicted by a jury after a two-day trial at Bristol Crown Court. He was released on bail and will be sentenced on Friday, August 2, at the same court.

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The court heard how Baker, of Garnett Place, got behind the wheel of the 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 viewed CCTV and dashcam footage showing the lorry driving along Highwood Lane and the M5 south before the collision with the raised tipper bed. Calls from members of the public started coming in at around 8.20am and minutes later the lorry hit a gantry on the southbound carriageway.

The bed of the truck was detached from the rest of the truck and one of the matrix signs fell onto the highway. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Brad Hardwidge heard the crash before he saw it. He said: “I heard it from the other end of our site, it sounded like a distant explosion. It’s adjacent to our off-road buggy tracks at Max Events.”

Another witness, who preferred not to be named, saw the aftermath while walking his dog this morning in a neighboring field. He said he felt something “went drastically wrong” to allow the vehicle to end up in the position it did, but was glad no one was hurt.

The M5 was completely closed for almost 14 hours to ensure the structure was safe. It was then closed again the following weekend as the portal was completely removed.

Baker told police during an interview that he usually didn’t check that the truck bed was down after making a delivery, but said in retrospect he should have. He added that he did not see any other drivers signal him to stop and that he was not aware of any mechanical failure that would have caused the problem.

PC Ian Hudson, of the road policing unit, said: “The consequences of this collision could have been catastrophic if the matrix sign had hit a vehicle traveling at 70mph or the gantry had collapsed on an active motorway.

“Anthony Baker’s failure to carry out even a basic check that the truck bed was lowered is inexplicable and has put other road users at risk. Road safety is something that everyone should have at the forefront of their mind when getting behind the wheel of any vehicle.”