A horrifying crash has been captured on film showing a motorist’s legs dangling out of his windscreen as debris littered the road.
Vygantas Stanulis, from Lithuania, was jailed for 12 month on Monday after he failed to stop during rush-hour tailbacks near Canterbury.
Stanulis, 55, was driving a Mercedes articulated lorry along the coast-bound carriageway of the A2 towards Dover when the incident took place on January 19.
After failing to slow for tailbacks, Stanulis’ lorry - fully laded with steel - crashed into a line of stationary traffic at Harbledown about 8.35am, Kent Police said.
Stanulis crashed into a Ford Fiesta which in turn hit a Iveco flatbed lorry carrying wooden pallets.
The driver of the Fiesta, a man in his 20s, suffered multiple injuries including a fractured skull, two fractured vertebrae, a fractured ankle, knee and shin bone and facial injuries.
“The victim still faces operations on his face and knee and will live with the consequences of this collision for a long time,” investigating officer PC Celia Weller said.
Stanulis had denied responsibility for the accident but changed his plea to guilty on Monday, the day his trial had been due to start.
Weller said visibility had been clear on the morning of the collision and the roads had not been icy - something that was evident from the dash camera footage taken from Stanulis’ truck.
Witnesses said the lorry did not slow down as it approached the line of traffic, Kent Police said, adding that Stanulis only attempted to brake about half a second before colliding with the Fiesta.
Weller said: “Stanulis told us he had taken his eyes off the road for a second to look at two lorries parked in a layby. He described it as a momentary lapse in concentration.”
She said the lorry driver had shown remorse for the victim throughout the police investigation.
“Stanulis didn’t set out that morning to cause harm and he is still coming to terms with what happened.
“It just goes to show that any lapse in concentration when driving can have devastating consequences.”