One of the two truck drivers charged with causing the deaths of eight Indian-origin victims in one of the UK's worst road collisions was nearly twice the legal drink-drive limit, a UK court has been told.
Ryszard Maseriak had stopped in the slow lane of the highway when a minibus driven by India-born Cyriac Joseph and carrying the family and friends of four Wipro employees tried to avoid crashing into his large vehicle.
According to reports, the minibus got crushed as it was hit by a second truck at that moment.
Maseriak, 31, broke down in tears as High Wycombe Magistrates' Court was told yesterday that he was recorded as having 55mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath.
The legal driving limit in the UK is 35mg.
The collision, which occurred near Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire in the early hours ofSaturday, resulted in the death of six men and two women - three of whom have since been identified as Indian nationals who were working for Nottingham firm Capital One through Wipro-organised IT contracts.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of all those who lost their lives in this tragedy. We will continue to provide all assistance to the families in this hour of grief," a Wipro statement said, as it confirmed employees Karthikeyan Ramasubramaniyam Pugalur, Rishi Rajeev Kumar and Vivek Bhaskaran among the victims of the crash.
Another Wipro employee, Mano Ranjan Panneerselvam, was critically injured and remains in hospital.
Three other passengers, including a five-year-old girl whose parents are believed to be among the dead, also remain in hospital.
"Four people who were injured remain in a serious condition in hospital. We have had full cooperation from the two freight companies involved and they are fully supporting us with our investigation," Chief Inspector Henry Parsons from Thames Valley Police, said.
Maseriak is charged with eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving, four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and eight counts of causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit.
The Polish national, who made no application for bail and is yet to indicate if he intends to plead guilty or not guilty to the charges, was remanded in custody and will next appear at Aylesbury Crown Court on September 26.
A second truck driver involved in the crash on the UK's M1 motorway - 53-year-old David Wagstaff - who has also been charged with eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving and four counts causing serious injury by dangerous driving, will appear at Milton Keynes Magistrates' Court on September 11.
Masierak was driving a white Scania lorry, while the other two vehicles involved were a Mercedes Benz lorry and a Ford Transit minibus, the court was told.
The minibus had been taking a group of 11 - all Indians and British Indians - from Nottingham to London.
Its driver, 52-year-old Joseph, who was born in Kerala, was the owner of ABC Travels company based in Nottingham, who also died in the crash.
He was described by a friend on Sunday as an "extraordinary father".
The group had hired Joseph's minibus to be driven to London, from where they were to set off on a European holiday with members of Panneerselvam's family who were visiting the UK from India.
Panneerselvam's father, aunt and uncle also died in the crash along with his three colleagues.
Thames Valley Police is yet to formally reveal the identities of the victims of the crash until all their next of kin have been contacted and initial investigations are complete.
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