Minibus death crash, two to stand trial

Two lorry drivers will stand trial over a crash that killed eight people.

Ryszard Masierak, 31, and David Wagstaff, 53, appeared together at Aylesbury Crown Court on Friday over the crash on the southbound carriageway on the M1 near Milton Keynes on 26 August. They both pleaded not guilty to 12 charges in total - eight counts each of causing death by dangerous driving and four counts each of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Minibus driver Cyriac Joseph and his seven passengers were travelling from Nottingham to London when they were killed in the horrific collision over the August Bank Holiday weekend, four others were seriously hurt.

The defendants were both driving two lorries that were involved in the crash, the court heard. Wagstaff, from Stoke, pleaded guilty to eight lesser charges of causing death by careless driving, and four counts of careless driving. Judge Francis Sheridan ordered that the men should stand trial from 26 February next year, with the hearings set to last two weeks.