Lorry driver cannot explain crash

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/7130986.stm

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A lorry driver accused of killing a family after he fell asleep at the wheel has told a court he did not know what had happened.

Ian King, 60, of Leicestershire, denies causing death by dangerous driving.

Mr King told Oxford Crown Court that "something catastrophic" had happened on the A34 near Bicester, Oxfordshire, but he did not know what.

Malcolm Dowling, 46, his wife Janice, 42, and sons Richard, 16, and George, 11, from Staffordshire, died instantly.

Mr King, of Groby, denied feeling tired or unwell before the crash.

The only explanation for what we heard happened on that day is that you fell asleep at the wheel John Price, prosecuting

He is alleged to have "nodded off" before his articulated lorry ploughed into a line of vehicles, causing a multiple pile-up, on the afternoon of 31 July 2006.

The Dowling family were travelling home to Lichfield, from a family holiday in France.

Mr King told a jury at Oxford Crown Court: "The only conclusion I have come to is that something catastrophic has happened and that I just do not know what it is. I still do not know to this day what it is."

The trial has heard how Mr King suffers from sleep apnoea, a respiratory problem which disrupts sleep and can cause drowsiness.

Mr King told the jury he had not suffered any medical problems, or had trouble with his sleep, before the collision.

He said he has been receiving treatment for sleep apnoea since the incident.

When asked by prosecutor John Price if he accepted that "the only explanation for what we heard happened on that day is that you fell asleep at the wheel", he replied: "I do not know whether I can accept that.

"I am being told that's what happened. I just do not know, I cannot answer that."

The case continues.