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
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182 
Mobile phone query over death crash driver
Page 12
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
SENTENCING OF A German truck driver who caused the death of four people has been adjourned to allow police more time to investigate an allegation that he was using a mobile phone at the time of the accident.
Andreas Klassen, 51, admitted four counts of dangerous driving when he appeared at Stafford Crown Court, but denied that a mobile phone was a factor in the incident.
Sentencing was adjourned until 9 February to allow police to carry out an investigation into a mobile phone SIM card taken from Klassen, who was remanded in custody.
An investigation by experts has already been carried out into his on-board computer. Klassen was at the wheel of an artic when the collision happened on the northbound carriageway of the M6 between Junctions 11 and 11a on 10 September last year.
Christopher Rankin and Matthew Sellers, who were in one car, and Irene Crosby and Leslie Crosby, who were in another car, died following the collision. The accident led to the closure of the motorway from Junction 11, resulting in severe traffic flow problems. It was not until the following morning that the entire carriageway was back in operation.
Klassen needed a translator throughout the court proceedings. The firm he worked for has not been revealed.