Driver blamed for five crash deaths
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• Two plant hire firms have been fined a total of £500,000 for failing to ensure public safety after a low-loader driver killed five people in Cornwall in 1995.
At the end of a three-week trial held at Truro Crown Court, lorry driver Mark Wade was found guilty of five counts of causing death by dangerous driving.
The fatal crash happened when the arm of the digger Wade was carrying swung out in front of oncoming traffic and the bucket sliced through a series of cars at head height.
Bazeley Plant Hire, of St Columb, Cornwall, was fined .£250,000 with £45,000 costs. Parent company Chepstow Plant Hire of South Wales was fined £175,000 with £30,000 costs.
The court heard that following the incident Chepstow Plant Hire was investigated by the police, leading to 15 convictions of causing its drivers to commit hours offences. In October 1996 East Gwent magistrates fined Chepstow ,E15,000.
Judge Graham Cottle said that elementary safety procedures had been ignored and "there was a total lack of instruction, training or supervision".
Wade admitted six tachograph offences at the start of the trial: he had tried to cover up his long hours by swapping tachograph charts for those of his managers, Peter James and Ken Hazeley.
Mark Picton, prosecuting, said both managers had "acquiesced and were instrumental" in the deception.
Cottle adjourned the case against Wade until November pending pre-sentence reports.