Lorry driver found guilty of killing milkman in crash on Oxfordshire road
A lorry driver has been found guilty of causing the death of a milkman by dangerous driving on an Oxfordshire road. Lorry driver Barry Archer, 43, was on trial at Oxford Crown Court last week following a head-on collision which killed milkman, Tom Glancy, 64, in July 2020. The case was heard over five days, beginning Monday, May 19, to establish whether Archer is guilty of causing Mr Glancy's death by dangerous driving.
On Friday, May 23, a jury found him guilty of one count of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of causing death by careless/inconsiderate driving. Archer will be sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on June 27. ADVERTISEMENT
He was released on conditional bail. READ MORE: Scales of Justice results from Oxford Magistrates' Court[1] The incident occurred on July 16, 2020, on the A420 near Pusey between Faringdon and Kingston Bagpuize.
Archer was driving a large goods vehicle towards Oxford on the single-carriageway road, when he alleges that he saw a deer on the verge and swerved to avoid it. This led to a head-on collision between his large goods vehicle and Mr Glancy's milk float, as Mr Glancy travelled in the opposite direction towards Swindon. The milk float was forced backwards along the road and came to a stop some distance from the point of impact, before catching fire.
Mr Glancy died on the scene. Archer called 999 and spoke to an operator who he told: "I swerved out of the way for a deer and all of a sudden I just looked up and there he was in front of me." ADVERTISEMENT
At another point in the call, he said: "I just know I am going to go to prison, because he is dead." During the trial, the jury heard from several experts, including Thames Valley Police's collisions investigator and three forensic experts who reconstructed the crash. The only civilian heard from in the case was Mr Jarosz, one of the first drivers to arrive on the scene who tried unsuccessfully to get Mr Glancy out of his vehicle.
His statement was read out to the court. The prosecution's case, put forward by Oliver Weech, was that Archer's story about avoiding the deer was not true, and the crash was instead caused by fatigue or distraction. Representing the defendant, defence counsel David Langwallner said Archer swerving to avoid the deer was a clear explanation for the crash.
The trial occurred after Archer pleaded not guilty to the offence of dangerous driving, submitting an alternative guilty plea to the offence of causing death by careless driving, which the prosecution did not accept. ADVERTISEMENT Giving evidence during the trial, Judge Maria Lamb summarised that Archer said: "I should have braked and gone straight on, I should have hit the deer."
She instructed the jury, in deciding their verdict, to "bring to the task dispassionate and objective assessment, as I know you will."
References
- ^ Scales of Justice results from Oxford Magistrates' Court (www.oxfordmail.co.uk)