A man who killed three people because he was using his mobile phone while driving has been sentenced at Winchester Crown Court.
The four-vehicle crash happened on the A303 near Andover, Hampshire, on 25 August 2021.
Prosecuting, Simon Jones told the court that one of the victims had broken down by the side of the road, while the other victim had her food truck over to assist her.
Spotting the two women, still partly in the carriageway, the third victim who happened to be a recovery driver, also pulled over to render assistance.
He was about to winch the broken down car onto his recovery vehicle when the defendant’s HGV ploughed into the food truck – which had its hazard lights on – at 56mph.
The collision shunted the van into the broken-down car, killing all three pedestrians who were between the two vehicles at the time.
The HGV driver was also charged with perverting the course of justice as he had attempted to destroy his mobile phone immediately after the accident.
Forensic examination, however, found that he had watched a full seven-minute video on Facebook on his phone in the minutes leading up to the accident, as well as shared it with a friend just 42 seconds before.
The man had been typing his destination in his navigation app at the point of impact.
Investigators concluded that, travelling at 56mph, the driver only applied the brakes some 12 metres before colliding with the vehicles, despite them being clearly visible for 170m.
The court also saw footage from the HGV’s dashcam showing it driving straight toward the stationary vehicles, with no attempt to slow down before colliding with them.
The same footage also showed the driver breaking his phone into two pieces.
“From the moment of this collision, the defendant’s actions were directed to destroying evidence that he knew implicated him and points towards his culpability and dangerous driving.
“Whilst he said he didn’t see, the reality is that the reason is he was using his phone,” said Mr Jones.
Defending, Adrienne Knight, said her client, who had been a lorry driver for eight years, took “full responsibility” for the accident.
“I have a life sentence with gut-wrenching regret and soul-tearing sorrow that will never fade, an impossible torment I will carry as my cross until the end of my days,” the defendant said in a letter to the court.
“There are no words to describe how sorry I am.”
Judge Angela Morris told the man: “Watching a video on a mobile phone whilst driving is breaking the law.
“The fact you did so for a length of time shows a lamentable lack of regard for the rules of the road and the safety of other road users.”
“Being in an articulated lorry, no doubt you felt invincible.”
“The aggravating factor is that three people lost their lives in the catastrophic manner shown in the dash-cam footage.”
After sentencing, Detective Constable Cate Paling said: “This was a catastrophic loss of life.
“[The defendant] killed three people because he was using his mobile phone and not paying attention to the road.
“The devastating consequences of his selfish actions have torn three families apart.
“While the sentence passed today will not heal their pain, we are pleased our investigation has provided answers and justice to the loved ones of [his victims].
“More than anything I hope other drivers who think there is no harm in using their phone while driving will consider this case and learn from it.
“Nothing on your phone could ever be important enough to risk killing another person.”
After hearing a guilty plea to three charges of causing death by dangerous driving, Judge Morris jailed the man for 12 years and banned him from the roads for 16 years. He will have to take an extended retest before getting behind the wheel again.
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