AN accident in which a North-East soldier on exercise in the US died was caused by a lorry driver who swerved across the road, it emerged last night.

Sergeant Andrew Jowers was a passenger in a pick-up truck hit by a lorry towing a trailer that drifted on to the other side of the road, in Arizona last week.

Sgt Jowers, a married father-of two from Ormesby, Middlesbrough, and Corporal Jonathan Train, 26, who was driving the pick-up, died instantly in the head-on accident.

US police spokesman Eric Price said the lorry driver, Ruben Gallardo-Aguilera, 39, drifted across the road and overcorrected, bringing his lorry into the lane of oncoming traffic.

Mr Price said police believe tiredness caused him to lose control of the truck on State Road 78.

Tests revealed he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Mr Gallardo-Aguilera suffered minor injuries.

Mr Price said: "They did not have a whole lot of time to react.

"There was no shoulder on the road and nowhere for them to go.

"The road has a lot of dips and curves. It is a dangerous, narrow road."

Last night, the family of Sgt Jowers, known as Jiggy to his many Army friends, paid tribute to the loving husband, son and father as they came to terms with the accident.

His mother, Maureen, 54, from Ormesby, said: "He has served all over the world and you have to expect something could happen, but we did not expect it to be like this -not when he was in Arizona just on a training exercise."

The body of the Royal Artillery soldier was flown to Heathrow yesterday and was due to arrive on Teesside last night.

The funeral of Sgt Jowers will take place on Friday.

Sgt Jowers, who had served in Bosnia and Iraq, had been due to return next Friday for Christmas with his wife, Carol-Ann, and their three sons, Ross, ten, Connor, eight, and Josh, five.

Maureen Jowers said: "Obviously the boys are upset.

"The younger one's a bit to young to understand, but he is talking about him all the time.

"The eldest one is a bit subdued and has been upset. The two younger ones are used to him being away -they still think he is coming back."