Taxi Driver Dozed Off Behind the Wheel and a Life Was Lost

(Kolawole Erunkulu. Photo Credit: X/Jeff George ™)

A taxi driver fell asleep at the wheel and killed a man who was simply trying to get back into his car.

Kolawole Erunkulu, 45, was driving on the A23 highway in Surrey early one morning last August when he dozed off behind the wheel.

His Audi swerved across the road and smashed into Philip Dray's Volkswagen, parked safely in a layby.

Philip, 59, was just opening his door to climb back in when he was struck. He died at the scene.

What made it worse is that Erunkulu had been driving almost non-stop.

In the three days leading up to the crash, he had been on the road for about 53 hours straight.

His rest periods were pathetic the longest was only seven hours, and the others were just four and two hours.

Right before he hit Philip, he had already worked for 12 hours with barely any breaks in between.

Camera footage inside his car showed the moment he fell into microsleep, those dangerous few seconds when your body just shuts down without warning.

His vehicle drifted across the lane, hit Philip, and carried on for ten more seconds before finally stopping at the next layby.

This month, a court sentenced Erunkulu to six years in prison for causing d£ath by d@ngerous driving.

He admitted what he did.

The judge said he was clearly exhausted and knew it but kept driving anyway. She noted that the whole tragedy could have been avoided if he had simply slept.

He was also banned from driving for eight years, and if he wants his license back someday, he will have to retake his entire test.

A taxi driver who caused the death of a man on the A23 in Surrey after driving for 12 hours straight has been jailed. Footage from Kolawole Erunkulu’s car captured the moment he fell asleep at the wheel in Merstham, shortly before 6.30am on Sunday 17 August. pic.twitter.com/gLT9MsOrew

— Asim Dastgir (@elitekafir) September 1, 2026