A lorry driver who was texting moments before crashing into a car, killing an unborn baby and leaving the mother with life-changing injuries, has been jailed for three years and four months.
Samuel Bailey, 29, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving after ploughing into the back of Helena Cartlidge's stationary Vauxhall Astra on the A500 at Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, on February 13. The 44-year-old mother was 28 weeks pregnant with baby Estella at the time.
Ms Cartlidge suffered a broken hand, broken jaw, bleeding on the brain and severe bruising. She had to undergo an emergency caesarean section, but the baby was stillborn. She now uses a wheelchair after spending 11 weeks in hospital and has had 12 operations, with four more planned.
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that Bailey had been texting just 30 seconds before the collision. He had previously received a fixed-penalty notice for using a mobile phone while driving a lorry in October last year.
Sentencing, Judge Paul Glenn said: 'You failed to see stationary traffic until it was far too late.' Ms Cartlidge said after the case: 'It just shows how dangerous texting while driving is... He knew it was illegal, he knew it was dangerous, but he continued to do it anyway.'
