Texting driver jailed for fatal accident
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A lORRY driver who caused a fatal four-vehicle crash while texting on his mobile phone behind the wheel of his truck has been jailed for ive years.
Christopher Kane, aged 67, from Swinton, Rotherham, who had earlier pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, was sentenced at Doncaster Crown Court on 9 December for his part in the incident, which killed 22-year-old Jemma O’Sullivan.
The accident took place on 3 September 2010, on the northbound, inside lane of the M18, a mile-and-a-half before Junction 2 at Wadworth, Doncaster.
A statement released by the victim’s family, following the court hearing, said: “This man has caused devastation to our family by texting while driving an HGV at 55mph on the M18. As we heard in court, one text alone had 117 strikes of the keyboard.” Kane was also disqualiied from driving for ive years.
PC Steve Rounds, of the Central Motorway Police Group, says picking up a phone is the most “distracting activity a driver can carry out” .
He explains: “Picking the phone up to check the text, or just to see who sent the text, takes four seconds: a lorry travelling at 56mph will cover more than 100m with the driver distracted [during this timeframe]. The driver then has to react, and these reaction times are worse than a driver impaired by alcohol.”