An HGV driver from Suffolk has been jailed following a crash on a motorway that saw an eight-year-old child suffer life-threatening injuries.

Dominic Nicholls, 53, of Inkerman Terrace in Hadleigh, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for dangerous driving, having collided with the rear of a family car that had stopped on the hard shoulder due to engine issues. 

The incident happened at 11.56pm on the M42 northbound in Warwickshire on April 28 last year and resulted in injuring three of the car's four occupants, including an eight-year-old child.

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The family were travelling to their home in Stafford from Heathrow Airport after returning from a family holiday in Sri Lanka when a warning light appeared on their Nissan X-Trail dashboard, which they stopped to investigate.

Nicholls was travelling about a minute behind in his 40-tonne HGV and for unknown reasons drifted onto the hard shoulder at 55mph and collided with the rear of the X-Trail before the family had time to exit the vehicle.

An eight-year-old girl suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital, while her mother, father and th family's five-year-old son also suffered injuries.

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A Warwickshire Police spokesperson said: "She thankfully survived the collision but will suffer for the rest of her life. 

"She will sadly be unable to think, talk or walk again and will have to use a wheelchair.  She will need a carer for the rest of her life."

Nicholls was disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for seven years and will have to pass an extended driving test to drive again.

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He was also ordered to pay a £190 victim surcharge during his sentencing at Warwick Crown Court last Thursday.

PC Craig Pearson, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit at Warwickshire Police, said: "This is a very sad and tragic case. 

"The dash cam footage from the HGV shows that Nicholls makes no attempt to brake or take avoiding action prior to the collision.

"The standard of driving falls far below that expected of a careful and competent driver. 

"We hope this sentence brings some comfort to the family whose lives have been devastated by what happened that day."