Inches from death: RAC man's back broken as lorry ploughs into him on M6
This is the chilling moment an RAC driver was nearly killed by a lorry driver who ploughed into him on the M6.
Terence Poolman, 69, swerved off the inside lane and across the hard shoulder, before ploughing into the worker and breaking his back in two places.
Poolman then drove off following the terrifying smash, leaving the victim in agony at the side of the road.
Luckily, another lorry driver saw the worker in pain at the side of the northbound carriageway, between junctions six and seven, and pulled over to take care of the 40-year-old.
An investigation was then launched to find the crash driver, whose registration had not been picked up by the motorway cameras.
Pc David Gaunt said: "Without a registration number, we knew it would be almost impossible to bring the driver to justice."
"The only lead we had was a branded catering van seen travelling directly behind Poolman's lorry. We knew it was a long shot, but we decided to contact the company and ask them if any of their drivers had witnessed the incident and crucially, taken down the registration.
"Astonishingly, one of them contacted us to say he had done and from there, we were able to trace Poolman."
Poolman, of Beech Drive, Shifnal, was interviewed but claimed to have no memory of the collision, which happened on the northbound stretch of the motorway between Junction 6 for Spaghetti Junction and 7 for Great Barr on April 28 last year.
He later pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed last week at Birmingham Crown Court for eight months. He was also banned from driving for two years.
PC Gaunt said: "The recovery driver is extremely lucky to be alive and the consequences of Poolman's complete lack of attention that day could have been a lot worse.
"The victim remains in a lot of pain and has been unable to work since the crash. The impact of his injuries will stay with him for the rest of his life and he worries about what kind of work he will be able to do in the future.
"In releasing the footage of the collision, we hope drivers will understand the responsibility they bear when they get behind the wheel and take steps ? such as taking regular breaks, not starting a long trip if you're tired or pulling over for a coffee ? to ensure they are fully alert while driving."
