Investigating officer Det Sgt Mark Dunne has released a statement saying Thames Valley Police's thoughts are with the victim's friends and family.

He adds: “Although the detection system on the smart motorway was not functioning at the time, other drivers saw the stranded Nissan vehicle and took the necessary evasive action, and we received a number of 999 calls alerting us to the break down in a live lane," he says.

“Tragically, prior to our arrival on scene, O’Sullivan collided with the Nissan, causing a catastrophic injury to Pulvinder.

“Our case was always that the manner of O’Sullivan’s driving was careless, regardless of the status of the smart motorway systems not alerting drivers to the stranded car at the time.

“Pulvinder was a much loved person, and I hope that her family can begin to move forward with their lives in some way now that sentencing has concluded.”

This brings our live coverage to an end. You can read the full story on today's sentence here.

The widow of a man killed after he was struck by a lorry on a smart motorway said the accident in Berkshire shows the limits of the technology.

Claire Mercer says their dependency on electronic systems, without a hard shoulder, makes them “much more dangerous”.

Her husband Jason died on a section of the M1 near Sheffield in June 2019.

“Being so dependent on technology in an already dangerous environment, it’s just making it much, much more dangerous,” she adds.

“We’re being very laissez-faire to think: ‘Oh, it’ll be all right.'”

In an impact statement read out to court earlier, the victim’s youngest son, Manvir Dhillon, said his mother was his “best friend” and that their family was struggling to move on from her sudden loss.

“Just the day before this horrific incident, she had been at a party, dancing away and living her life to the fullest, as she had always done,” the statement read.

“One day she was dancing and the next she is no longer alive.

“How could we ever forget this and move on?

“It was so sudden and although it has nearly been four years, we are still unable to fully process this.”

Continuing to speak to reporters, O'Sullivan repeats the criticism of National Highways and police heard in court and says he has submitted complaints.

His defence team argued throughout the case that an accident was always likely to happen and that O'Sullivan was failed by the smart motorway system.

In a statement released after O'Sullivan was found guilty, National Highways said: "Any death on our roads is one too many and our thoughts are with the family and friends of Pulvinder Dhillon following this tragic incident.

"While nothing can ever compensate for their loss, the person responsible has been found guilty of driving carelessly."

Barry O'Sullivan has been speaking to reporters outside Reading Crown Court after he received a suspended sentence.

He says he is "fortunate to be alive, which sadly was not the case for Pulvinder Dhillon".

He offers his sympathies to her family and says everyone involved had "suffered needlessly".

"I wish I could turn back the clock but obviously that's not possible," he added.

Edmund King's statement adds that the AA has "argued for years" that smart motorways were "not fit for purpose" and relied too much on technology.

"Once broken down in a live lane, the system is meant to use technology to alert other drivers about the stopped vehicle," he says. "In this case, and on many other occasions, the technology just was not working.

"Of course, drivers have a responsibility to be alert to what is happening around them and in front of them. However, faulty technology turns ‘smart’ motorways into ‘dangerous’ motorways as this case tragically illustrates."

The Department for Transport said in February that although it would not be rolling out any new smart motorways, they remained among our safest roads in terms of deaths and serious injuries, and were just as safe, or safer, than the roads they replaced.

AA president Edmund King has issued a statement to the BBC.

He said: “This is a truly tragic case, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of Pulvinder Dhillon who died in this crash.

“While the driver, Barry O’Sullivan, has been held accountable and found guilty of causing death by careless driving, the court case raises serious questions about the role of the road environment and the technology that is meant to keep drivers safe.

"Some have argued that those who designed these ‘smart’ motorways and those responsible for the failing technology should also have been in the dock."

The judge found O'Sullivan is not suitable for unpaid work because of the injuries he suffered himself in the crash ove four years ago

Since then he has walked with the aid of sticks and is unable to work.

The judge acknowledged that O'Sullivan's driving ban would be hard on him - he was driving his work van at the time of the accident.

No sentence would be of consolation to Dhillon's family, who lost a much loved mother and grandmother, he added.

Judge Amjad Nawaz says the fault lay with O'Sullivan and that the "primary duty" of driving safely was his, regardless of the alleged failures of those responsible for the motorway.

He says O'Sullivan suffered a "momentary lapse of concentration", the cause of which remains unclear.

Van driver Barry O'Sullivan has been sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months.

He will be disqualified from driving for 12 months but he will not need to pass a retest following that.

While the court waits for the judge to return, here is a recap of the evidence heard during the case.

The jury has heard that Rajpal Dene was driving on the M4 near Reading when her Nissan Micra's engine failed, leaving it stranded in the outside lane. Her mother, Pulvinder Dhillon, was a passenger.

For nearly six minutes, the women were trapped with the hazard lights on as 35 vehicles passed at close quarters and 14 were forced to swerve to avoid crashing.

Eight miles behind them, Barry O’Sullivan was driving a Ford Transit van, passing beneath 14 motorway gantries that did not display a red ‘X’ warning of an obstruction ahead.

At 08:36 his van hit the back of the Nissan, causing it to catch fire. Pulvinder Dhillon's daughter escaped but the 68-year-old died despite rescue attempts by other drivers.

You can read more about the case here.

Judge Amjad Nawaz has left the court to consider his sentence and says he will return in 15 minutes.

Defence barrister Bridge talks of failures with the smart motorway on the M4 on the day of the crash.

He says that "very concerned" members of the public called police almost five minutes before the accident, alerting them to the broken-down Nissan Micra.

Despite that, he says there was a significant delay before signals were illuminated on overhead gantries.

Bridge says O'Sullivan has submitted a complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

In a statement read out to the court, through his barrister Ian Bridge, O'Sullivan says: "There is not a day I don't think about how sorry I am about this situation.

"This is something that will truly haunt me forever."

Bridge says that O'Sullivan is "filled with remorse" and that the impact of the crash is still profound on him.

He cannot walk more than 10m without becoming breathless, Bridge says, and the accident was an "utter disaster from everyone's point of view."

Image source, Handout

Prosecutor Hope reads out a victim impact statement from Pulvinder Dhillon's youngest son, Manvir.

He says his mother, who was 68 when she died, was his "best friend" and deeply loved by her family.

Manveer talks of how his mother left her abusive husband in Tanzania, and a "luxurious life" behind, with £10 from her father in her pocket to start a new life in London.

He says the motivation behind moving to the UK was to provide for her children, for whom she worked up to three jobs at a time.

The hearing is under way and prosecutor Ian Hope begins by telling the court that the accident happened after a "momentary lapse of concentration".

The court was previously told that O'Sullivan was not wearing a seatbelt while driving his van was in cruise control travelling down the M4 in March 2022.

Welcome to our live coverage from Reading Crown Court as we await the sentencing of van driver Barry O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan was found guilty of causing death by careless driving following a trial at this court in February.

It follows a crash on the M4 in Berkshire on 7 March 2022.

He crashed into a broken-down car in the outside lane of a smart motorway, killing 68-year-old Pulvinder Dhillon who was a passenger in the stationary vehicle.