1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156 
Jail for driver who fell asleep at wheel
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A GERMAN TRUCK driver who crashed his truck on the M25 in September 2006 after falling asleep at the wheel has been jailed for 90 days and banned from driving in the UK for two years.
Chelmsford Magistrates' Court heard that Johann Reimer, from Aachen in Germany, was driving between J26 and J25 on the M25 at 4.30am on 13 September 2006 when the driver of a 7.5-tonner spotted Reimer's 44-tonne truck weaving across the lanes. Reimer's vehicle then crossed the hard shoulder, went behind the Armco barrier and crashed into the concrete support of a bridge at 44mph. He was seriously injured.
The driver of the 7.5-tonner told the court Reimer's brake lights did not come on during the incident.
The 7.5-tonner stopped, as did a milk tanker, which parked with its hazard lights on straddling the hard shoulder and lane one.
Two other trucks pulled out to lane three, passed the accident scene and pulled into the hard shoulder to offer assistance.
Shortly after, a truck driven by German driver Markus Peeren crashed into the back of the milk tanker. He died at the scene.
After initial treatment in the UK, Reimer was airlifted to Germany, where he spent three months in hospital, the court heard. It then took a further seven months before he was able to drive again.
Essex Police charged Reimer with dangerous driving. He pleaded not guilty hut failed to appear in court in August 2007 and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
He was then arrested on 5 February as he came through the Port of Dover in another truck. He changed his plea to guilty and was remanded in custody until the court hearing last week.
As well as the prison sentence and the ban, the court ruled that Reimer could not drive in the country again until he had taken an extended retest in the UK.