A lorry driver has been jailed after he veered off the road and crashed into a bus stop, killing a “bright, playful and considerate” teenager.

Logan Finch was just 14 when he was pronounced dead at the scene of the tragic accident which also left his aunt in a wheelchair for life.

The driver of the vehicle, Frederick Mansfield, from Hythe, was unharmed in the collision but has been sentenced to seven years in jail for causing death by dangerous driving.

Logan was on his way to have his hair cut when the crash occurred on December 21, 2021 in Blackheath, south east London.

At the trial, prosecutor Rupert Kent told the jury the teenager was waiting for the 321 bus with his aunt, Rachel Poole, two of his cousins and a friend.

“Without any warning at all, the defendant’s vehicle moved straight at this group,” said Mr Kent.

“It came at them at some speed. It initially collided with a lamp post.

“It then collided with the bus stop causing some damage to it and in the process it hit Logan, it hit Rachel and it hit Rachel’s nine-year-old son.”

When the lorry came to a halt at 3.33pm, Logan was pinned between it and the bus stop and was pronounced dead a short time later.

Ms Poole’s 9-year-old was not hurt, but she was knocked to the ground, causing catastrophic injuries to her legs and chest because of which, she will be wheelchair-bound for the rest of her life.

Mansfield was driving from central London back to his home in Imperial Gardens, when he veered off the A20 Eltham Road, causing the deadly collision.

But in conversations with police, the 43-year-old gave differing accounts of the moment before he left the road.

In body-cam footage taken 10 minutes after the collision, the 43-year-old can be heard telling officers: “I just put my foot on the wrong pedal” and “that was my fault, mate”.

However, when speaking to another constable 45 minutes on, he claimed his memory of what happened was a “bit blurry” and that he must have “either blacked out or fallen asleep”.

During a formal police interview the next day, the father-of-two said he could not recall how it happened, but thought he may have blacked out and pressed the wrong pedal.

Then, when interviewed again five months later he delivered a prepared statement blaming the crash on his previously undiagnosed sleep apnoea.

Mansfield was charged with causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving, but denied the charges.

His barrister, Nicholas Cotter, said when the driver set out that day, he had no intention of not paying full attention or falling asleep.

“He was not planning on harming anyone,” he said.

At trial, Mansfield claimed to suffer from severe sleep apnoea and said this was the cause of the collision

But a jury disagreed and unanimously found him guilty, and at a sentencing hearing yesterday, on February 22, Ms Poole criticised the criminal for making her family relive the painful ordeal.

“The driver of the lorry pleaded not guilty. It was a cowardly act,” she said.

"He should have owned up to what he’s done.

“Instead, we’ve had to relive the trauma over and over again for the past two years, then we’ve had to sit in the trial and hear it again.”

Logan’s parents also attended proceedings and gave statements expressing their pain and making tributes to their son.

Logan’s mum, Natalie Roach told Woolwich Crown Court: "To have my son taken by someone else’s actions hurts me everyday.

“He had a beautiful sister who was two years old when he died. She talks about him all the time.

“Logan was a bright, energetic, playful and considerate young man, loving life and his family.

“There was so much love from people who knew Logan. He was everyone’s favourite person. Not a bad word could be said about Logan.”

“Logan will never be forgotten”.

“Logan was a bright, energetic, playful and considerate young man, loving life and his family...”

Logan’s dad, David Finch, recounted the moment when he learned that his son had died.

“I remember that call like it was yesterday, my heart sunk,” he said.

"Hearing those words - 'we’re sorry but your son is dead' - I will never forget.

“We live close to the area where it happened, we’re reminded of it and knowing that my son took his last breath without me there.

“It wasn’t like he was running across the road to catch a bus, he was waiting at a place where he should have been safe. It makes it more difficult to understand why.

“We will never see him graduate and be that proud family. We will never see him get married and have a happy family. We never got to say goodbye.”

Handing down his sentence, Judge Jonathan Mann KC told Mansfield: “There’s no question that you didn’t set out to do anything bad to anybody that day.

“But people who get behind the wheel of such large vehicles must drive responsibly.

“Those that do so bear a higher responsibility to be sensitive to the world around them as they drive.

"To be sensitive to the state of their vehicle and their own state.

“Because a failure to notice the world around them, or a failure to notice feeling tired, can have huge consequences.”

“It’s not clear what caused you to be distracted or not to be cognisant of what was going on – it was either distraction, or more likely, that you drifted off to sleep.”

“I think the truth was said yourself 11 minutes after the accident, when you told a police officer ‘It’s my fault, I put my foot on the wrong pedal.”

He sentenced Mansfield to seven years behind bars and disqualified him from driving for six and a half years after which, he will have to pass an extended retest.

Speaking after the hearing, Det Sgt Louise Woodgate, of the Met Police’s serious collision investigation unit, said: “I hope that Frederick Mansfield uses his time behind bars to consider the human cost of his actions and the heartbreak he has caused to Logan’s family and loved ones.”

Det Sgt Woodgate added: “Logan’s death, and the injuries caused to the other two victims were wholly avoidable.

“While nothing can bring Logan back, I hope that his family find a small measure of comfort from the sentence handed down and in knowing that justice has been served. All our thoughts remain with them.”