A former Rolls-Royce senior engineer who was airlifted to hospital just 24 hours after receiving the all-clear from cancer was seriously injured when his near-stationary vehicle was struck by a van travelling at over 80mph.
Crash details and sentencing
Derby Crown Court heard that moments before the collision, Aaron Roberts, 38, had sent a photograph and messages to a WhatsApp group chat named 'Lads, lads, lads' before ploughing into the back of Roger Bowler's Nissan Micra. The impact caused Roberts' Ford Transit to collide with other vehicles and the central reservation.
Mr Bowler, 73, from Derby, described as 'fully independent with a sharp mind' by his daughter Lindsey, sustained multiple injuries, including numerous broken ribs. She told the court that her father's cancer later returned and he passed away in March 2026, seven months after the collision.
In a victim impact statement, Lindsey said: 'I lost him in March but I feel like I lost him in the crash, it absolutely destroyed me.'
Judge's remarks
Jailing Roberts for two years, Judge Shaun Smith KC said: 'You were driving in the most appalling manner. You were doing 82mph at the point you thumped into the back of Mr Bowler's car and you had been driving at 89mph until five seconds before the crash. Shortly prior to that you had been on your phone sending not just a photo but also text. Nobody had a chance.'
He added: 'It was not known that his condition would return but in the time period of him being told it was going and it returning his daughter described him as being a shadow of the person he was. At the point of collision you were travelling in a straight line and what does that tell me? It tells me you did not see a single thing because you were not concentrating as you had been looking at your phone.'
Prosecution evidence
Declan Austin, prosecuting, said the collision took place on the afternoon of July 1, 2025, on the A38 just north of Derby. Roberts had been working in Etwall and was driving home. Evidence showed he had been travelling at 51mph in a 40mph limit and joined the 60mph limit dual carriageway at 76mph.
Mr Austin said: 'Evidence showed he had been on his phone between Etwall and the collision and was sent a photo to a WhatsApp group called "Lads, lads, lads" of a digital thermometer. He then took and sent a photograph of the temperature inside his van.' Mr Bowler later said he pulled into the right-hand lane approaching a junction and that's all he remembers until he woke up and found people looking at him in his car.
Witnesses told police how Roberts' Ford Transit careered into the back of Mr Bowler's before hitting other cars and then the central reservation. One witness heard 'the screech of brakes'.
Victim impact
Mr Bowler, a father and grandfather who founded and was chairman of the Derby Sight Loss Leisure Group charity, was airlifted to hospital with multiple injuries. His daughter read her own victim impact statement, describing how her father worked as a chief combustion engineer for Rolls-Royce for 44 years.
She said: 'What I really want to stress is that before the accident my dad was fully independent with no physical limitations and his mind remained sharp. My dad always told me to look at life with the glass half full. Only 24 hours after being told he was cancer-free, I got a call from the police to say he was being airlifted to the hospital following a car accident. I can't explain the shock I felt going from elation to complete devastation.'
Defence and sentence
Roberts, of Nesbitt Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He had no previous convictions but months before the collision was handed three and six points for two different speeding offences.
Lesley Pidcock, mitigating, urged the judge to suspend the inevitable prison term. She said: 'He was driving too fast and he knew that was dangerous but he stopped at the scene and sat down with one witness telling them "I tried to stop but I was too late".'
As well as the jail term, the judge disqualified Roberts from driving for two years and 10 months.
