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P ACCIDENTS
Page 14
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Crash kills two after bee flies into cab
A TRUCK DRIVER who was distracted when a bee flew into his cab swerved and caused a multiple-vehicle crash that killed two students, a court heard.
Gavin Anstey, 23, from Worthing, who admitted charges of dangerous driving, was jailed for four years when he appeared before Lewes Crown Court.
The court heard that Anstey, driving a truck for a home insulation company, had been on the A27 near Lewes when he swerved head on into oncoming traffic as he was trying to get the bee off his leg.
The two female students who died had been travelling in separate cars, both struck by Anstey's truck.
Barrister for the defence Hugh Williams said: "It is something that might happen to anyone and it is a matter of how he reacted.
"What he should have done is steer the other way and not be so scared.
"There was an element of acting with the normal fortitude of a driver that was not present here. He didn't steer as a competent and careful driver would, he didn't brake as a competent driver should."
Passing sentence, Judge Anthony Niblett said: "The deaths have caused a devastating and irreplaceable loss to both families.
"No sentence can begin to compensate for the loss of these two young lives, which were vibrant, full of promise."