Family outraged at lorry driver’s ‘measly sentence’ for M25 crash that killed four

The family of a woman who was one of four victims in a horrific M25 crash, where a lorry rammed into the rear of a minibus, have expressed their outrage at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), claiming it has made a "mockery" of her life following the truck driver's "measly" three-year prison sentence[1]. Jennifer Smith, 59, along with three other passengers, died when Ethan Burdett, 67, from Ipswich[2], crashed his lorry into the back of a minibus carrying 10 passengers on the M25 in August 2021. Nicola Elliott, 42, and Deborah Douglas, 48, Jennifer's daughter and sister, said that Burdett was initially charged with four counts of death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury after the crash.

Under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, these charges can carry a life sentence.

However, Burdett denied these charges, instead pleading guilty to causing death and serious injury by careless driving, a crime which carries a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment.

Nicola and Deborah said they were informed that the CPS initially rejected the plea, but reversed their decision after reviewing the forensic and CCTV evidence. Burdett was subsequently sentenced on July 4 almost three years after the fatal crash.

Burdett was sentenced to three years in prison for four counts of causing death by careless driving and was disqualified from driving for four-and-a-half years. Nicola told the PA news agency: The sentence makes a mockery of my mum's life it makes it seem worthless. "I feel let down by the CPS and judicial system because my mum worked her entire life to help homeless people and those in difficulty.

The CPS is there to serve justice and this is not justice."

On August 23, 2021, Jennifer, who had recently begun a new role as service manager for the homeless hostel Branches, went on a work trip to Southend-on-Sea. Returning home, the minibus she was travelling in came to a standstill after joining a line of traffic in the first lane ahead of the exit slip road at Junction 26 on the M25, near Waltham Abbey in Essex[5]. Just moments later, Burdett's lorry crashed into the rear of the minibus with such force that it was thrust into the car in front, a silver Ford Mondeo.

The minibus toppled over sideways and came to rest with its wheels off the ground, while the Mondeo was sent spinning 180 degrees, its bonnet ending up under the minibus' roof.

Jennifer and two other passengers, Dexter Augustus, 60, and Abigael Muamba, 31, died in the crash, while Lisa Gardiner, 44, later died of her injuries. The remaining passengers, including the driver, also sustained serious and minor injuries. At this point, Nicola and Deborah were unaware of the tragic events that had unfolded.

When Jennifer failed to answer her phone later that evening, they assumed she had either misplaced her phone or simply gone to bed early after a long day. However, the following day, just before 4pm, two police officers arrived at Deborah's home in Bromley and delivered the devastating news that her sister was among the four victims of the crash. Over the next few hours, Deborah and her brother Stephen contacted every family member, urging them to come over as soon as they could.

This included Nicola, who was becoming increasingly worried about why her mother wasn't picking up the phone.

Nicola said: "We just thought something had happened to her, but at no point did I think she was gone. When I got to Debbie's home, I could hear the crying and the wailing coming from inside. "When I got through the door, my uncle told me what had happened and I just passed out.

Looking back now, it was just carnage, there's no other word for it, it was absolutely heart-breaking carnage." After the initial shock, Jennifer's family wanted to find out what had happened. They learned that Burdett had failed to react in time before colliding with the minibus and were informed that the police were compiling a case and awaiting forensic results.

Deborah and Nicola said that they were notified in early 2023 that Burdett had been charged with four counts of death by dangerous driving, a crime for which the maximum sentence had recently been raised from 14 years to life imprisonment.

When they appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court[6] on July 5, they said that Burdett had denied the charges. Instead, he entered a guilty plea to four counts of causing death by careless driving, which is considered a lesser offence with a sentence of up to five years imprisonment. "They proceed to say that Mr Burdett would plead not guilty to dangerous driving but was willing to plead guilty at that time to careless driving," explained Nicola.

"The CPS said no, we won't accept that plea, we've looked at all the evidence and believe he was driving dangerously." The proceedings were postponed until April this year. When Deborah and Nicola returned to court, they were expecting the CPS to reject his plea and fight the case.

However, they were shocked to discover just a day before the trial that after re-examining the evidence, the CPS was prepared to accept his plea.

"Can you imagine our heartache after what took almost three years," Deborah expressed. On July 4, Burdett was sentenced to three years in custody, a ban from driving lasting four-and-a-half years, followed by a requirement to retake his driving test. Nicola said: "When they accepted his plea, there was nothing we could do about it.

I feel let down and it's heart-breaking because it feels like the CPS just didn't care enough." Deborah and Nicola have now launched a petition on Change.org to demand that the CPS be "held accountable" They described the sentence handed to Burdett as "measly" in their campaign.

Nicola said: "We're devastated beyond comprehension. It's been such a long road and it's been so difficult.

We just feel broken all over again." Deborah said: "She was the heart of our family." A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: "This is a profoundly tragic case, and our deepest condolences remain with the families of Dexter Augustus, Lisa Gardiner, Abigael Muamba and Jennifer Smith.

"We made the decision to accept a guilty plea to causing death by careless driving after important CCTV evidence came to light which showed the lorry driver's view may have been obstructed for some of the time prior to the collision. "We are writing to the families of each of the victims to explain our decision in more detail and will be closely scrutinising our handling of this case."

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References

1. ^ three-year prison sentence (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
2. ^ Ipswich (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
3. ^ Driver dies after A605 crash near Cambridgeshire border (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
4. ^ Join CambridgeshireLive's free WhatsApp channel for the latest breaking news straight to your phone (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
5. ^ Essex (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
6. ^ Court (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
7. ^ click this link (whatsapp.com)
8. ^ here (www.reachplc.com)