A 38-year-old Lithuanian builder, Vilius Domarkas, has been sentenced to ten years in prison after driving his van into a coned-off work area on the M23 motorway and fatally striking highways worker Anthony Howe, aged 65. The incident highlights the catastrophic consequences of driving whilst severely intoxicated, as Domarkas was between three and four times over the legal alcohol limit, making him so impaired that he failed to realise he had struck a person.

Domarkas had just arrived at Stansted Airport from Lithuania, where he had been receiving treatment for alcohol dependency, when he began driving erratically and drifting between lanes. Mr Howe had exited his own vehicle only seven seconds before impact and was killed instantly whilst still holding the door handle. The van only stopped after travelling 500 metres, halted by an automatic fuel cut-off triggered by vehicle damage. Domarkas was so intoxicated that he initially called 999 reporting only a broken windscreen and fell over when police arrived. In addition to imprisonment, he received a sixteen-year-and-eight-month driving disqualification, and his van was forfeited.