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Van driver on cannabis killed apprentice in Bedfordshire crash

Family of Thomas Smith Photograph of Thomas SmithFamily of Thomas Smith
Thomas Smith, 19, died when his boss crashed a van into a parked lorry

A van driver who was more than twice the limit for cannabis when he crashed and killed his teenage apprentice has been jailed for nine years.

Thomas Smith, from Kempston, Bedfordshire, died at the scene on the A421 Bedford by in November 2018.

Benjamin Norman, 41, a roofer from Wootton, was found guilty of causing death by careless driving.

Sentencing him at Luton Crown Court, Judge Lynn Tayton QC said Norman "habitually" drove while on cannabis.

He had been cleared of causing the death of his enger by dangerous driving, but convicted of the lesser charge of careless driving while over the limit for cannabis.

During his trial in January, prosecutor Charles Ward-Jackson said Norman had been driving at 70mph (110km/h) when he lost control of the white VW van for 10 to 15 seconds, drifted across two lanes of a dual carriageway, and smashed into a parked lorry in a lay-by.

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