Coroner calls for action on sleep disorder

1:30pm Wednesday 27th August 2008

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A CORONER who conducted the inquest into the death of former Westmorland Gazette employee Toby Tweddell has called for the Government to take action to reduce road fatalities caused by a sleeping disorder.

Merseyside coroner Christopher Sumner said ministers should introduce regular screening for all lorry drivers to detect the medical condition obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).

Mr Tweddell, who worked at the Gazette between 2004-05, was killed on August 8 2006 after an articulated lorry hit a queue of traffic on the M62 heading into Liverpool.

The 25-year-old web designer’s Nissan Micra was pushed under the flatbed of a Ford Transit pickup. He died later in hospital during surgery.

At an inquest earlier this month, Mr Sumner delivered a verdict of accidental death after the lorry driver, Colin Wrighton, was found to be suffering from OSA, which causes a person to stop breathing during sleep, leading to fragmented sleep and excessive daytime tiredness.