Truck driver sentenced after Pearl Truck Stop death

A truck driver has been given a suspended prison sentence after fatally hitting another HGV driver who was guiding him through a tight gap. As reported on our sister site, Commercial Motor, 61-year-old Mick Godfrey was on a break at a truck stop near Blyth in January 2024, when he went to help fellow driver Alisher Jumanov, who had mistakenly headed down a road towards the A1. According to Nottinghamshire Police, Jumanov could not turn his vehicle around and, worried about running out of hours, went to the locked gates of the Pearl Truck Stop for help.

The gates were opened and Godfrey moved his own lorry to make space so Jumanov could enter and rest. As Godfrey and another man guided him through the gap and over some concrete sleepers, Jumanov lost control and struck Godfrey, pinning him against a trailer. Godfrey died at the scene.

Jumanov, 46, admitted fault in interview and pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.

At Nottingham Crown Court on 8 September, he was given a six-month jail term, suspended for two years, and a 12-month driving ban.

Detective Constable Liah Lane said: "Jumanov never intended to hurt anyone on that fateful evening, but the fact is that he should never have been in that location in the first place."