Dashcam exposes lorry driver who blamed fatal crash on coughing

A lorry driver who claimed a coughing fit caused him to drift on to the wrong side of the road and crash into another HGV was caught out, because his dashcam was also recording audio.

Footage from Mariusz Korkosz's cab showed him driving incorrectly on a Caerphilly industrial estate for almost 20 seconds, before colliding head-on with a truck driven by local man Gary Rees, who later died.

Korkosz, who drove for a Polish haulage company, didn't realise his camera recorded sound, but still insisted it should have captured the violent coughing which made him "black out" and become disoriented.

A police investigation, filmed for BBC series The Crash Detectives, revealed in the moments before the impact, he could only be heard swearing, and was jailed for 20 weeks.

Forensic collision investigator Dean Burnett, from Gwent Police, said the collision between the two heavy goods vehicles was "huge", with a combined impact speed of around 45mph (72km/h).

He added: "It's effectively like one or both of the vehicles driving into a brick wall.

"A brick wall that doesn't collapse. They both stopped at the point of impact, such was the magnitude of the impact."

Father-of-two Mr Rees, aged 55, had to be cut free from the cab of his lorry, following the crash in July 2022.

He was treated for injuries to his head and leg, as well as broken fingers.

Described as a "huge character", and a "legend" in his home town of Caerphilly, where he also worked as a doorman, he appeared to be making a recovery from his injuries, but died three weeks later.

Mr Rees' devastated family said he was an amazing driver, loved lorries and had never had a crash in 30 years of driving.

In the hours after the collision, he told wife Hayley Rees, 44, he just "didn't have a chance".

She described how her husband had tried to swerve out of the way, but trees were in the way.

"He said 'I turned the lorry as much as I could, I just put my hands up in front of my face and I don't remember anything else'," Mrs Rees added.

"And that's probably all Gary ever said about it."

But dash cameras were recording in both vehicles, and analysis revealed that as the Polish-registered truck appeared around a left-hand bend, heading straight for him, he reacted immediately.

The hazard warning lights could be seen flashing - indicating that Mr Rees was emergency braking, with corresponding locked wheel marks discovered on the road surface at the scene of the collision.

His hand was on the top of the steering wheel, as he pulled to the left in a desperate attempt to avoid the impact.

But this evasive action was in sharp contrast to the driver who'd been on the incorrect side of the road.

Korkosz, 46, told police he'd been feeling unwell during his trip to Wales, but had continued with his delivery to Penyfan Industrial Estate.

He described having bouts of acute coughing, before heading back towards the main road.

While his dashcam captured the sounds of the engine, the sat nav and the indicator ticking, there was no coughing to be heard - just a burst of expletives as he realised the collision was about to occur.

Despite his injuries, Mr Rees held no grudge, and instead felt compassion for a man in the same profession.

Mrs Rees said: "Gary had said to me that he didn't do it on purpose, and he didn't want him to go to prison.

"The police had told him that he had a family and some children, and I remember him saying 'what about them? They don't know where their dad is, he's going to be in prison here in the UK, and I don't think he speaks English, that's not going to be very nice'."

Korkosz maintained his story but admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, and was sent to prison for 20 weeks.

Mrs Rees said: "I remember telling Gary that the driver had been sentenced and he just went really quiet.

"He was really upset, he had tears in his eyes, he said 'I need to lie down', and he went and laid down, and stayed there for a few hours.

"And he wouldn't talk about it."

Three weeks and three days after the collision, Mr Rees collapsed at home and died.

Three years on, his sons Macauley and Jorge recall how his funeral brought Caerphilly to a standstill - in a send-off which couldn't have been more fitting for such a well-loved man who adored rugby and driving lorries.

While Mrs Rees was reluctant at first for his coffin to be carried on the back of an American truck, Jorge, 22, was quick to convince her it would be exactly what Gary would want.

It led a cortege of numerous other lorries, as people lined the streets to pay their respects.

Macauley, 30, said that his father's popularity meant there was nowhere big enough locally to accommodate his funeral service - so they turned to Bedwas Rugby Club instead.

He said: "We couldn't just have it in a normal place, we had to have it actually on the rugby field.

"It was weather depending, but it turned out to be the hottest day of the year.

"That just shows how much of a big character he was, having it on a rugby field."

A coroner concluded that Mr Rees died as a result of complications from the injuries he'd suffered in the crash.

But no further action was taken against Korkosz, who had already served his sentence and been deported.