A speeding lorry driver who struck a British father and his baby in their car in France and killed both of them received only one year in prison.
When the heavy-goods driver struck a British couple’s automobile in 2017 with his empty livestock truck, he was driving too fast.
The Brittany criminal court in Quimper sentenced the 32-year-old driver of the livestock truck on Thursday to five years in jail, four of which will be suspended.
The grandparents of the infant were traveling slightly ahead toward the village of Pluguffan while the British family was on vacation in the town of Plogastel-Saint-Germain when their car was struck from behind.
A Gendarmes officer was cited as saying at the time, “It was a really forceful collision.”
The baby is believed to have passed away instantly, while the 37-year-old father was pulled from the rubble and transferred to a hospital in Quimper, where he eventually passed away from his wounds.
The mother, who was riding in the front seat, was transferred to a hospital in Brest after sustaining severe injuries and ended up being the only person to survive the vehicle accident.
Evidence suggested that the truck that struck the automobile had used its brakes for around 65 feet before striking the family vehicle, which was preparing to make a left turn.
The British rental car was thereafter reportedly forced to drive on the opposite side of the street.
The driver received treatment for shock and minor wounds.
Prior to the collision, he had sent many texts from his phone while driving at 87 km/h on an 80 km/h route.
According to the French publication 20 Minutes, the driver had fabricated a workplace test meant to track his driving time at the time of the collision, which was discovered by police.
Under EU regulation, drivers must take a minimum of 45 minutes of rest after 4.5 hours of driving, however the livestock driver had not done so at the time of the collision.
He was given a five-year truck driving ban, and his business was fined £16,922.