THE family of two Leeds brothers killed in a horrific motorway crash say they feel “cheated” out of justice after nearly four years of torment.
Peter and Michael Zanetti died in a pile-up on the M62 outside Leeds after a lorry driven by Halifax man Michael Warren careered through the central reservation on the morning of May 19, 2009.
At their inquest yesterday, Coroner David Hinchliff heard Mr Warren should never have got behind the wheel because he had exceeded the legal limit on the number of hours HGV drivers are allowed to work and was suffering from a number of medical complaints.
It is thought he either fell asleep or became ill at the wheel before swerving across three lanes of the eastbound carriageway near junction 27 and into the path of the Zanettis’ van on the westbound side.
Mr Warren was charged with causing death by dangerous driving after the crash, but his trial was repeatedly delayed because of his poor health.
He eventually died of natural causes, on October 30 last year – before the case ever came to court. Mr Hinchliff delivered verdicts of unlawful killing in the case of both 56-year-old Peter Zanetti, of Holmsley Field Lane in Oulton, and his 55-year-old brother, who lived on York Road in Seacroft.
After the inquest Peter’s partner of 40 years, Susan Zanetti, said the family had been through “hell” since the incident.
She added: “We feel cheated and that justice hasn’t been done.
“The longer it has gone on, the more we have felt like victims.
“It has shattered a very big, very close family.”