A 54-year-old man has been charged with causing the death of a woman by dangerous driving following a crash on the M2.

The collision happened between Sittingbourne and Faversham on the coast bound carriageway of the motorway on September 2 and involved a dark grey Nissan Micra and a Scania lorry.

Yvan Vandermeulen, from Belgium, was remanded in custody when he appeared appeared before Mid Kent magistrates.

The 40-year-old woman who died in the collision has been named by Kent Police as

Dr Sasha Spinnelli, who used her maiden surname, Roberts, professionally.

Dr Roberts, who lived in Lewes in Sussex, was senior lecturer in English and American Literature and had worked at the University of Kent at Canterbury for nine years.

A UKC spokesman said: “We are sorry to learn of her death and our thoughts are with her family and friends.”

A four-year-old boy who was taken to Kings College hospital in London after the collision is still in a critical condition.