Jamie Fernandes and Matthew Greenhalgh died when the taxi they were travelling in to Liverpool Airport was crushed

Anthony Burns, of Headington Road in Upton, Wirral, aged 63

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Anthony Burns, of Headington Road in Upton, Wirral, aged 63(Image: Cheshire Police)

A lorry driver was said to have “switched off” before he smashed his HGV into the back of an Uber and killed two Ryanair pilots. Jamie Fernandes, 24, and Matthew Greenhalgh, 28, died when the taxi which was taking them to Liverpool John Lennon Airport was crushed between two lorries.

It came after the HGV which struck them to rear, being driven by Anthony Burns, failed to spot a queue of stationary traffic which had formed ahead of him amid a closure of the westbound carriageway of the M62. While he was suspected of having fallen asleep at the wheel, he now claims that he was “effectively on autopilot” and “did not register what was ahead of him until it was far, far too late”.

Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Tuesday, that Uber driver Rashid Mehmood collected Mr Fernandes and Mr Greenhalgh from Luton Airport at around 1.30am on July 10 2024 in order to transport them to Liverpool John Lennon Airport. He later reported that his passengers “immediately went to sleep” and that the journey in his Toyota Auris taxi was “relatively non-eventful”.

But Damian Nolan, prosecuting, described how “all of that was to change on the M62 as the Toyota headed westbound and neared Liverpool”. Approaching junction eight at Warrington West, signs on overhead gantries warned motorists to slow from 70mph to 60mph, and subsequently to 50mph and 40mph, due to an incident on the opposite carriageway which required the temporary closure of the westbound motorway to allow paramedics to gain access to the scene.

This led to a “pretty big queue of traffic” near to the entry slip road, with the Uber coming to a stop behind a lorry. CCTV footage showed both vehicles stationary for several seconds before the HGV being driven by Burns, of Headington Road in Upton, Wirral, ploughed into the back of the taxi, only braking less than one second before impact.

Mr Mehmood’s car was then crushed between the two lorries, with Mr Fernandes and Mr Greenhalgh being left with injuries which were “not survivable”. The taxi driver meanwhile “remarkably survived” after sustaining a broken shoulder, “multiple rib fractures” and continuing difficulties with his spine, with officers only becoming aware of his presence upon seeing his hand “emerging from the wreckage”.