Ryanair pilots killed after M62 lorry driver ‘switched off’ and crashed into taxi

Jamie Fernandes, 24, and Matthew Greenhalgh, 28, died when the Uber taking them to Liverpool John Lennon Airport was crushed between two lorries on the M62

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A lorry driver is believed to have “switched off” before his HGV crashed into the back of an Uber, tragically killing two Ryanair pilots. Jamie Fernandes, 24, and Matthew Greenhalgh, 28, lost their lives when the taxi transporting them to Liverpool John Lennon Airport was sandwiched between two lorries.

The incident occurred when the HGV that hit them from behind, driven by Anthony Burns, failed to notice a line of stationary traffic ahead of him due to a closure on the westbound carriageway of the M62. Although initially suspected of dozing off at the wheel, he now asserts that he was “effectively on autopilot” and “did not register what was ahead of him until it was far, far too late”.

Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Tuesday, that Uber driver Rashid Mehmood picked up Mr Fernandes and Mr Greenhalgh from Luton Airport around 1.30am on 10 July 2024 to take them to Liverpool John Lennon Airport. He later stated that his passengers “immediately went to sleep” and that the journey in his Toyota Auris taxi was “relatively non-eventful”.

However, prosecutor Damian Nolan painted a grim picture of how “all of that was to change on the M62 as the Toyota headed westbound and neared Liverpool”. As they approached junction eight at Warrington West, overhead gantry signs instructed drivers to reduce their speed from 70mph to 60mph, then further down to 50mph and 40mph, due to an incident on the opposite carriageway.

This necessitated the temporary closure of the westbound motorway to allow paramedics to reach the scene, reports the Liverpool Echo.

This resulted in a “pretty big queue of traffic” near the entry slip road, with the Uber coming to a halt behind a lorry. CCTV footage revealed both vehicles stationary for several seconds before the HGV, driven by Burns of Headington Road in Upton, Wirral, rammed into the rear of the taxi, applying the brakes less than one second prior to the collision.

Mr Mehmood’s vehicle was subsequently sandwiched between the two lorries, inflicting injuries on Mr Fernandes and Mr Greenhalgh that were “not survivable”. The taxi driver, however, “remarkably survived”, despite suffering a broken shoulder, “multiple rib fractures” and ongoing spinal issues.

Officers only became aware of his presence when they spotted his hand “emerging from the wreckage”.

One witness, Iain McGilp, reported to the police that it appeared “like the driver [Burns] had fallen asleep approaching the traffic”. Mr Nolan explained that there were no defects found on his lorry that could have led to the accident, and the 63-year-old defendant seemingly “had an unobstructed view of the rear of the queueing traffic” for at least 500 metres before the crash site.

It was also established that Burns was not using his mobile phone at the time of the incident and was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A tachograph unit installed in his HGV indicated that he had been “travelling at a steady 56mph” for 35 minutes leading up to the incident, except for a “short period of deceleration” about four minutes prior.

During questioning, Burns declined to answer all inquiries and “provided no explanation for his manner of driving”. He has a record of 16 previous convictions for 28 offences, including receiving a suspended prison sentence for arson in the 1990s.

In August 2021, Burns was given three penalty points for operating a HGV with an unsafe load after his lorry shed its cargo on the A18 near Scunthorpe. Michael Hayton KC, defending, told the court: “The victims were two young man of bright futures, bright pasts, loving families with a great deal to look forward to.”

His defence counsel said: “In the intervening period, knowing that there are those who have lost family members, he too has suffered a great deal. He is empathising with those who have suffered and very much regrets, for their part, what he has done. He would do anything to go back in time. He is, no doubt, not alone in that.

“He was effectively on autopilot. He went out that day to do his job. He has been a professional driver for more than 30 years. He has never had an accident, either as a personal driver or in his professional capacity. He is, on any other day, a safe driver. On this particular occasion, he has driven dangerously and caused two deaths and serious injury.”

He added: “In this case, what we have is a man doing his job and doing it safely, as he has done for 31 years previously, and just switching off for up to 20 seconds previously. The worst thing that can be said about the defendant’s driving is that he had been warned by the matrix signs and he had 20 seconds to react, but he did not.

“He is supported today by a loving, caring family whose focus is on him, who are all alive to the impact on that side of the room [the public gallery where the victims’ families were seated] being far greater. The letters of reference and character advanced on his behalf all reinforce that this is a man who, after the period of time since the incident, has changed beyond recognition.

“He is keen and anxious that people do not leave this courtroom thinking he did not care or it did not have an impact on him. He will not live with it like they live with it, but live with it he will.

“These are awful cases, tragic cases, extremely tragic in circumstances of such bright, shining young things that have been taken away from the families. This defendant regrets what he did. He did not go out to drive dangerously. He did not go out to drive a machine of death and mayhem, but each time one of us gets behind the wheel there is a risk.”

Burns pleaded guilty to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one of causing serious injury by dangerous driving. Standing in the dock dressed in a black jacket over a white shirt and grey tie with short grey hair, he appeared to shake his head as he was escorted to the cells after being sentenced to 10 years behind bars.

During sentencing, Judge Medland stated: “Your vehicle ploughed into the back of that queue, sandwiching the Toyota Auris driven by Mr Mehmood and killing, thereby, the two young men who were asleep in the back. They were Jamie Fernandes and Matthew Greenhalgh, 24 and 28 respectively, two airline pilots who Mr Mehmood was transporting from Luton to Liverpool.

“They were, as your learned counsel has said, bright young men with significant careers and a long life ahead of them. That was taken away from them by your dangerous driving.

“Nobody suggests for one moment that you set out that day to cause harm or injury, still less death, to anybody. For decades by then, you had been a commercial driver and an experienced HGV man. You were not on your phone, you were not under the influence of drink or drugs.

“Whether you were on a sort of robotic autopilot, who knows? You do not know. You are not able to say. One eyewitness thought that it was as if you had fallen asleep. Whether by virtue of that or whether you were just not paying attention, this was a lack of attention for a substantial period of time.”

He added: “This dreadful, tragic episode killed two men and serious injured a third. You have heard, and will have understood, the terrible and enduring impact which this episode had on the family and friends of Mr Fernandes and Mr Greenhalgh, and the enduring day to day impact it has on Mr Mehmood.

“The word grief does not quite sum up the feeling. There is always, of course, the oppressive guilt of the survivor, which you probably feel yourself. This sentence is not in any way a value of their lives. That would be impossible. The court must instead reach for what it sees as a just sentence in this case.”

Burns must serve a minimum of two thirds of his jail term before he can be considered for release. He has been disqualified from driving for 150 months and must complete an extended retest before being permitted to return to the roads.