Van driver admits causing death of highway worker

A van driver has admitted causing the death of a highway worker by dangerous driving on the M23.

Vilius Domarkas, 38, pleaded guilty to causing the death of 65-year-old Anthony Howe, from Kent, after driving a Citroen Relay on the southbound carriageway in Crawley, West Sussex.

Emergency services were called to reports of a crash involving a van and a highway worker near junction nine of the motorway shortly before 01:00 BST on 8 July.

Domarkas, of no fixed address, entered a guilty plea at Hove Crown Court on Thursday.

Domarkas had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and struggled to keep his balance after the crash, Sussex Police said.

They added that he veered into a coned off area of the slip road and struck the highway worker.

A blood sample test Domarkas provided four hours after the crash showed that he was over the legal limit for alcohol, with 221 microgrammes (ug) per 100 mililitres (ml) of blood.

Det Con Kelly Newton said: "This is another tragic example of drink-driving which has had devastating consequences.

"Domarkas was in no fit state to drive that night, and his own vehicle's dashcam footage showed him driving erratically prior to the fatal collision.

"He has caused the death of a highway worker and put the lives of all other road users at risk when he got behind the wheel."

Domarkas is to be sentenced on 28 September.

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