A DRIVER who fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a broken down car killing a breakdown man trying to repair it was jailed for two years today.

Susan Lowe, 62, had been convicted of causing the death of 58-year-old Terry Booth who had gone to the aid of a stranded motorist on the eastbound carriageway of the A31 near Ringwood.

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Mr Booth, who lived at Ferndown, suffered massive head injuries and died at the scene of the crash at Poulner.

His recovery truck was parked partly on the verge and partly on the inside lane and jurors heard it was lit up like "a Christmas tree" to ensure it could be seen by approaching traffic.

But Lowe, driving back home from a music convention in Bournemouth, mounted the verge, smashing into the broken down Peugeot before colliding with the truck.

Today Judge Christopher Leigh QC agreed she had fallen asleep at the wheel. "I don't believe when you set out you realised you were as tired as you were and you obviously were."

Lowe, a widow who lives in Leeds, was also disqualified from driving for four years and ordered to take an extended re-test.