[A] MAN has denied badly injuring a fellow HGV driver by alleged dangerous driving following a crash on the A66 between Penrith and Appleby.
Arlandas Lubys, 40, appeared at Carlisle Crown Court this morning.
During a short hearing before Judge James Adkin, Lubys denied two charges. Both arise out of a crash involving two wagons close to Kirkby Thore at around 9-30am on March 29.
Lubys denied one charge which alleges that he caused serious injury to James Rennie by dangerous driving. Lubys, a Lithuanian national, also pleaded not guilty to allegedly failing, without reasonable excuse, to provide a blood specimen on the same date.
At a previous court hearing it was stated that Mr Rennie – aged 54 and from Huntly, Aberdeenshire – had sustained a broken shoulder and fractured neck.
Both Lubys and Mr Rennie were said to have required hospital treatment following an incident which was the first of three crashes on that stretch of the A66 within a week around the turn of April.
A crown court trial which, it is estimated, will last four days was fixed for July 23. In the meantime Lubys, of Crawshaw Street, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was remanded in custody. His lawyer, Rachel Ottley, said during an address to Judge Adkin that an application for bail would be made “within the next week”.
