A LORRY driver, who caused a crash which killed a Huddersfield man, has escaped a driving ban or jail sentence.
John Thomas Dunbar, 54, was fined £500 by a court in Carlisle and had eight points put on his licence, after admitting driving without due care and attention.
But the family of one of the two people who died in the horrific crash, today insisted he should have been banned.
Malcolm Cruise, of Kirkburton, whose 29-year-old son Timothy was killed in the pile-up on the A74 in Cumbria, said Dunbar's actions had left two people dead, six people hurt and a main road closed for 11 hours.
"We have all made mistakes when driving, but to cause that amount of mayhem surely merited someone having to pay for it?" said Mr Cruise.
"We are not vindictive but it is very upsetting to our family and to the family of the young woman who died that the loss of their lives appears to be of no consequence.
"We as a family were not looking for a jail sentence but feel a year's ban would have been a fairer result."
The court heard that Dunbar, a professional lorry driver, of Gateshead, collided with another lorry on the busy A74 at Metal Bridge last April.
Dunbar's lorry slewed across the southbound carriageway, through the central reservation and into the northbound lanes, hitting several vehicles.
Mr Cruise, a civil engineer, was killed at the wheel of his Rover 400. The other victim was 34-year-old Wendy Duignan, of Annan, Scotland, who was on her way home from work.
Mr Cruise worked for Stratagem, based in Keighley, and was on his way to Scotland, where he was working on NHS contracts.
He has a twin sister, Rachel, and an older sister, Victoria.
Mr Michael Fisher, defending Dunbar, said it had been a momentary lapse of concentration. He said Dunbar wanted to express his apologies to all the families concerned.
Since the accident, Dunbar had suffered stress, seen the break-up of his marriage and had lost his father.
The magistrates said they accepted the crash had been caused by a momentary error by Dunbar. As well as the fine he was ordered to pay £35 court costs.
The crash was described by rescue service workers at the scene as one of the worst for years.
Mr Cruise and his wife Denise were joined by 500 mourners for their son's funeral, and received almost 1,000 condolence cards.
They said they had been warned by police that Dunbar was unlikely to be jailed.
Mr Cruise said: "My own view is that the law can be a fool from time to time.
"The law again takes it ponderous course while the families of the victims are left to try to get on with it".
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