Man who trapped lorry under M5 portal guilty of dangerous driving

A lorry driver who drove his tipper under a gantry on the M5 has been found guilty of dangerous driving.

The motorway was closed for almost 14 hours near Bristol after the force of the impact caused the bed of the lorry to be torn from the main body of the vehicle.

The driver, Anthony Baker, 48, “endangered other road users” after failing to perform a basic check on his truck and lowering the bed, police said.

No one was injured in the incident on 2 March 2023, and Baker was able to stop on the hard shoulder about 100m down the carriageway.

Baker, of Garnett Place, Downend, Bristol, was traveling on the M5 southbound on March 2, 2023, after delivering materials to a construction site on Cribbs Causeway.

He was seen by other drivers driving along with the truck bed fully raised.

Police began receiving calls around 08:20 GMT, minutes before the incident.

On impact, the bed was stuck vertically under an overhead gantry and struck a matrix sign on the roadway.

After the crash, officers attended the scene and breathalyzed and drug tested Baker, but both came back negative, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Baker was convicted Tuesday after a two-day trial.

The jury viewed CCTV and dashcam footage showing the lorry being driven along Highwood Lane and the M5 southbound before the impact.

Baker had held a clean HGV license since 2016.

At the time he was working for GTI Transport, after spending years working at his brother’s company.

While some dump trucks, including the ones Baker used in his previous job, had alarms installed that alerted drivers if the truck bed was raised, the GTI’s did not.

It was not a legal requirement for trucks of this type to be fitted with alarms, the court heard, but GTI Transport fitted its entire fleet with the alarms after Baker’s accident.

In his interview with police, Baker told officers that he usually did not check that the truck bed was down after making a delivery, but in retrospect said he should have.

He added that he was not alerted to the danger by any other drivers and was not aware of any mechanical failure that would have caused the problem.

During cross-examination on Monday, the prosecution said Baker “settled”.

He did not directly address the claims that he acted dangerously, only admitting that his conduct was “careless”.

PC Ian Hudson, of Avon and Somerset Police, 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 everyone should have at the forefront of their minds when they get behind the wheel of any vehicle.”

Baker was released on bail and is due in court for sentencing on August 2.