'Loving, caring' Northampton dad died after crashing into back of tipper lorry on M1, inquest hears

A "loving, caring" Northampton dad-of-two died after crashing into the back of a tipper lorry he failed to notice had slowed down on the M1.

Ghiorghita Anchidim was set to head home at the end of a seven-hour shift as a truck driver when he collided with the back of a lorry filled with tarmac at around 11.45pm on July 29.

Despite the efforts of other drivers and paramedics, Ghiorghita died in hospital on July 30, 2019. He was 45.

In a statement read out by the coroner at the dad-of-two's inquest today (February 6), his widow Maria said: "How do you write about losing such a loving, caring, hard-working man who was not only husband but my soulmate and my best friend in such sudden and tragic circumstances?

"His death has affected so many people who respected him and loved him. He loved spending time with his family. Life will never be the same."

The inquest heard from the driver of the tipper lorry who was carrying a full truckload of tarmac on the M1 Southbound when the crash occurred, one mile away from the Watford Gap services.

The tipper lorry driver said the overhead gantries on the motorway instructed traffic to slow down and he reduced the truck's speed to around 10mph.

But, around 10 seconds after reducing his speed, the driver felt the shunt of a vehicle colliding with the back of the tipper.

His tipper had been hit by Ghiorghita who was driving a white Iveco van. Both the tipper truck diver and the driver of a nearby Eddie Stobart truck ran to help the 45-year-old and emergency services were called.

Sadly, Ghiorghita died the next day.

Dashcam footage from the back of the lorry showed how the white van did not react to traffic slowing down and crashed into the back of the tipper truck.

HM Coroner Anne Pember ruled that the 45-year-old suffered an accidental death as part of a road traffic collision.