A LORRY driver had 12 seconds in which he failed to brake before fatally crashing into a broken-down car on the M40 in Oxfordshire, a jury was told.

Jose De Sousa, of Uxbridge Road, Feltham, Middlesex, denies causing the death of Ausra Budreckaite by dangerous driving on March 28 last year.

The 50-year-old went on trial yesterday at Oxford Crown Court.

Barrister Damian van Duyvenbode, opening the prosecution case, told the jury the collision happened at about 2.30am on the motorway’s southbound carriageway between junctions nine at Bicester and 8a at Wheatley.

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Mr van Duyvenbode said the Peugeot 406 carrying Miss Budreckaite and driven by her partner, Tomas Priluckis, who are originally from Lithuania, had suffered engine failure.

He said Mr Priluckis stopped in the inside lane, adding: “His headlights were on, dipped as normal, so from behind his rear lights were both illuminated.

“But we say so were his hazard lights.”

The barrister said after initially leaving the vehicle the couple made the “fateful” decision to return to the car.

De Sousa then “ploughed into the back of the Peugeot”, causing Miss Budreckaite a “catastrophic” and fatal head injury, Mr van Duyvenbode said.

He said the defendant was travelling at about 55mph, which would have given him 12 seconds to see their car and apply the brakes.

Mr van Duyvenbode said: “This fatal accident was either caused by a period of grossly inattentive driving or, due to the work load, he was suffering from the onset of fatigue.”

De Sousa also denies perverting the course of justice by disposing of his tachograph card, which records the lorry’s activity, after the collision.

The trial continues.

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