TEARS streamed down the faces of a family whose ‘much-loved’ grandmother was killed after a lorry ploughed into the back of her car on the A34.

Diana Allan died instantaneously when a heavy goods vehicle driven by Claudiu-Ioan Almasan crashed into her Nissan Note travelling northbound near Weston-on-the-Green on July 12 last year.

Almasan was sentenced to 32 months in prison and disqualified from driving for four years at Oxford Crown Court yesterday.

The court heard how Almasan ‘probably’ fell asleep at the wheel while travelling 56mph moments before he hit the back of the 73-year-old’s vehicle as it was slowing as traffic began to build. Judge Zoe Smith jailed the Romanian, 46, after he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving earlier on the of his day trial.

She said there was ‘nothing’ she could say or do that would allow Mrs Allan’s family and friends to overcome their 'devastating’ loss.

She added: “The impact of her tragic death will live with them forever.”

The court heard how Mrs Allan, a former Maths teacher, was ‘vibrant’ and ‘much-loved’. A statement from her son, Dean, said how the grandmother-of-six from Cambridgeshire was full of life and how July 12, 2015 was the 'darkest day' of his life.

The statement added: “My mum is dead and she shouldn’t be. She is an I want to know why?”

The court heard how two other vehicles were involved in the incident.

Defending Bernard Richmond QC said Almasan was a ‘good man’ who worked two part-time jobs to send money back to his family. He added: “This is a one-off, unique mistake. At the side of the road he immediately said ‘this was my fault’.”