Van driver sentenced for causing death of highways worker in M23 crash

A van driver who caused the death of a highways worker on the M23 has been jailed for 10 years.

Vilius Domarkas, 38, had admitted the charge of causing death by dangerous driving after he hit Anthony Howe, from Kent, while he was working on foot in a coned-off section of the motorway near Crawley, West Sussex.

At Lewes Crown Court, Judge Martin Huseyin said the driver of the Citroen Relay van had been “zig zagging between lanes” before the collision 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 and 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 8 months, and was told he will spend two thirds of his sentence in prison.

The court also heard Domarkas had stopped about 500m (547 yards) after the crash, and rang the police to say that his windscreen was crashed, but he did not know why.