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Southampton Crown Court trial: Lorry driver Slawomir Kotlowski says he ‘never saw, or heard’ efforts of motorist warning about his cargo before it fell on pedestrian in Lyndhurst

03:00, 30 October 2024

A DRIVER whose load fell off his lorry onto a woman in Lyndhurst said he “never” heard or saw frantic efforts by a motorist behind him to warn his cargo was dangerous in the minutes leading up to the accident.

Giving evidence at Southampton Crown Court, Slawomir Kotlowski said he had been unaware of van driver Robert Dilworth flashing his headlights or sounding his horn as he drove behind him along the A35 towards Lyndhurst.

He said if he had, he would have “looked for a safe place to stop”, adding: “There was nowhere to stop. I would have had to stop the traffic in full. If someone behind me didn’t see me stopping, a bigger collision might have happened.”

A pallet of building blocks fell from Slawomir Kotlowski's lorry in Lyndhurst
A pallet of building blocks fell from Slawomir Kotlowski's lorry in Lyndhurst

Last week Mr Dilworth told a jury that he had tried to alert Kotlowski after spotting his load had become unstable.

He said he tried several times to overtake the lorry and force it to stop. But he failed, and a pallet of blocks fell off his vehicle onto Chloe Evans (23) from Totton as she walked past the Lyndhurst Park Hotel site.

Kotlowski (43), from Collenswood Road, Stevenage, has been an HGV driver for 20 years, and claimed that as he drove towards Lyndhurst he was looking in his mirrors.

Asked by defence barrister Ian Bridge if he had seen any flashing of headlights, or heard a horn, he replied: “No.”

He added that his cabin was “insulated” and the windows were closed.

Slawomir Kotlowski has pleaded not guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving
Slawomir Kotlowski has pleaded not guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving

Kotlowski said that after the blocks fell he saw Ms Evans “under” them and asked two passers-by to call an ambulance and police.

Earlier, the defendant – who has pleaded not guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving – said he always checked his load when picking it up.

Kotlowksi said he had never before had an accident, and on the day of the incident, 31st October 2022, he had tightened two straps on the pallet.

The jury has heard that Kotlowski’s cargo had been incorrectly loaded by a Dutch driver in the Netherlands, and an “up and over” strap on the rear pallet was missing.

In the witness box the defendant said that at the time of the accident he had been on his mobile phone talking to a colleague.

The jury has heard that the call – which was made via hands free and a Bluetooth earpiece – lasted nearly 34 minutes.

In a police interview on the day of the incident Kotlowksi said he had remained “focused” on his driving saying it was “just a quick call”.

Asked by Mr Bridge why he had said that, Kotlowski said: “I don’t pay attention to things.”

He said that all the lorry drivers he knew also used hands-free mobiles when driving.

Cross-examined by prosecutor Matthew Lawson, the defendant admitted he had never read the Highway Code despite driving in the UK for 14 years.

Mr Lawson then read out a section of the code which said that a driver should “always know what is behind them” and asked Kotlowski if he had done that on the day of the accident, to which he replied: “Yes.”

Asked if he listened out for horns being sounded, the defendant replied that in a city, everyone blew them. Asked why if he could not hear in his cabin he did not leave the windows open “slightly” Kotlowski said: “I’m not deaf.”

The lorry shed a pallet of building blocks which hit pedestrian Chloe Evans
The lorry shed a pallet of building blocks which hit pedestrian Chloe Evans

Referring to Kotlowski’s claim that he failed to see Mr Dilworth’s attempts to alert him, Mr Lawson said to the defendant: “If you had been looking in your mirrors, you would have noticed at some points those lights flashing.”

The jury has heard that during the 34-minute phone call Kotlowski had switched between six other calls. The defendant said they had lasted “seconds”.

He denied being distracted by the calls and, when asked how he was supposed to hear car horns when on his mobile, Kotlowksi said: “I have another ear.”

Kotlowski had earlier said that if he had realised his load was dangerous he would have stopped, adding: “What human would not?”

The trial continues.

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