Van Driver Jailed for Dangerous Driving After Collision
Aaron Roberts, 38, of Nesbitt Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield, was jailed for two years at Derby Crown Court for causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The crash occurred on the A38 just north of Derby on July 1 last year, when Roberts' Ford Transit van struck the rear of Roger Bowler's Nissan Micra at 82mph, causing the van to hit other vehicles and the central reservation.
Mr Bowler, 73, a retired Rolls‑Royce senior engineer, was airlifted to hospital with multiple injuries including several broken ribs. Tragically, he passed away seven months later in March of this year after his cancer returned.
Daughter's Victim Impact Statement
In a heartbreaking victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Bowler's daughter said: “I lost him in March but I feel like I lost him in the crash, it absolutely destroyed me.” She described how her father had been given the all‑clear from cancer just 24 hours before the collision. “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.”
She added that before the crash, her father was fully independent with no physical limitations and a sharp mind. “My dad always told me to look at life with the glass half full.”
Dangerous Driving and Phone Use
The court heard that Roberts had been using his phone shortly before the crash, sending a photograph of a digital thermometer to a WhatsApp group called 'Lads Lads Lads'. Prosecutor Declan Austin stated that evidence showed Roberts was travelling at 51mph in a 40mph limit and then joined the 60mph dual carriageway at 76mph, accelerating to 89mph before the collision.
Judge Shaun Smith KC commented: “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.”
Witnesses reported hearing the screech of brakes as Roberts' van careered into Mr Bowler's car. Roberts had no previous convictions but had received three and six points for two separate speeding offences months before the crash.
Sentence and Disqualification
Roberts pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving. His defence lawyer Lesley Pidcock urged the judge to suspend the prison term, noting that Roberts stopped at the scene and told a witness, “I tried to stop but I was too late.” However, Judge Smith imposed an immediate two-year jail term and disqualified Roberts from driving for two years and 10 months.
