Driver jailed for killing highways worker in crash

A "too drunk to stand" builder who drove into coned-off motorway roadworks killing a highways worker has been jailed for 10 years.

Vilius Domarkas had just flown into Stansted Airport from his native Lithuania, where he had been in rehab for his drinking, when he was involved in the crash on the M23 at junction nine southbound in the early hours of July 8.

Anthony Howe, the Kent man he hit, had been out of his vehicle for only seven seconds.

Domarkas, 38, admitted causing death by dangerous driving after hitting Howe near Gatwick, West Sussex.

At Lewes Crown Court, Judge Martin Huseyin said the driver of the Citroen Relay van had been "zigzagging between lanes" before the crash at about 01:00 BST on 8 July, and was driving while under the influence of alcohol.

In a victim statement, Mr Howe's partner Lillian Bonney said her "entire world was ripped apart" when he was killed.

She said: "Tony was my best friend and a life without him is not something I had thought about.

"He was a very hard-working man who wanted to provide for us both, and was looking forward to retiring soon.

"The defendant made a choice that ruined my 'happily ever after'."

Domarkas, of no fixed address, was also disqualified from driving for 16 years and eight months, and was told he will spend two-thirds of his sentence in prison.

The court heard Domarkas had stopped about 500m (1,640 ft) after the crash, and rang police to say his windscreen was cracked, but he did not know why.

"You were so drunk you didn't appear to know why," the judge told Domarkas in court.

The judge added: "We should remember that, in circumstances like these, the most important people are those who knew and loved him and the consequence for them in his death.

"Mr Howe was best described by three simple words: he was a good man."

After the crash Domarkas had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and struggled to keep his balance, Sussex Police said.

They said that he had veered into a coned off area of the slip road and struck the highway worker.

In mitigation Andrew Bullivant, defending, said dad-of-two Domarkas was "genuinely remorseful" and had informed the Home Office he intended to return to Lithuania on completing his sentence.

He said the defendant was going through a break-up with his wife and "took the fatal decision to drink, possibly because of the marital breakdown".

A blood sample test Domarkas provided four hours after the crash showed he was over the legal limit for alcohol, with 221 microgrammes per 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

The judge estimated that at the time of the crash Domarkas was three or four times over the limit.

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