A LORRY driver who killed a family of four was fined £1,000 yesterday by a judge who went on to acknowledge that the sentence might appear “derisory”.

William Ishani was cleared of causing death by dangerous driving but convicted of careless driving. His 38-ton lorry ploughed into the back of the Khambaty family’s car on the M1 on June 5 last year.

Tasneem and Murtuza Khambaty and their two children, Sakina, 4, and Hussain, 9 months, died instantly when their vehicle was pushed under a stationary HGV in front of them.

A jury at Luton Crown Court took nearly nine hours to return four not-guilty verdicts after the seven-day trial.

But it convicted Ishani, 48, from Swindon, of the lesser charge of careless driving.

Ishani hung his head as he waited to hear the verdicts and left the court in tears, refusing to comment.

Judge Geoffrey Breen disqualified Ishani from driving for one year and fined him £1,000. The maximum fine is £2,500.

He said: “The maximum penalty I can impose for the offence of careless driving is a fine of £2,500 and a period of disqualification.

“The lives that were extinguished by this tragedy can in no way be reflected in the sentence I place on you.

“In the circumstances the penalty I impose will, I’m quite sure, be considered derisory by some. But it is the penalty which is appropriate for the offence.”

The family were 20 miles from their home in East Hunsbury, Northampton, when Mrs Khambaty, 31, stopped near Toddington, Bedfordshire, for road works.

Ishani, a father of three who has since been dismissed by the haulage firm Wincanton, was driving from Swindon to Rugby when the accident happened shortly after midnight.

He told the court that he had braked but could not explain why he had not seen the family’s Ford Escort, in a queue of traffic, in time to stop.

Ishani denied claims by the prosecution that he had fallen asleep at the wheel. He said that he had slept before leaving for work and taken a nap at a service station.

“I am overcautious as a driver, because I have a family at home,” he said.

Simon Stirling, for the prosecution, told the jury that the accident happened in a 40mph area, with signs warning that the motorway was being reduced to one lane ahead.

“In all probability he fell asleep but he certainly failed to see or take any evasive action,” he said.

“He had plenty of opportunity to see the queue of traffic but failed to do so and ploughed into the back of the car at 31mph.”

Ishani’s tachograph showed that the brakes had not been applied, Mr Stirling said.

Witnesses described Ishani’s driving before the accident as “erratic”, saying that he sped up and slowed down.

After the verdict, the family’s relatives said they were “disappointed” with the sentence and the lesser charge.

Fakhruddin Khambaty, the victims’ father and grandfather, said: “Regardless of what has happened the lives of many families will never be the same. The memories of this incident will always be with us. We hope that no one undergoes the trauma and agony that our family is going through.”

Mr Khambaty’s cousin, Noman Rangwala, added: “He (Ishani) has caused us great hurt which will always remain with us.”

“We are disappointed with the wording but it was up to the jury. We can’t do anything about that, we just have to accept it.”

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