A lorry driver who was watching TikTok videos before crashing his 44-tonne HGV into the back of a couple's car has been jailed for 28 months. Jack Haddow, 29, admitted two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving after the collision on the M6 in April last year left Kevin and Deborah Prescott with severe injuries.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Kevin Prescott had collected his wife Deborah from Manchester Airport in the early hours of April 1. They were travelling home to Lancashire in their Jaguar XE when Haddow's Mercedes Artos HGV collided with the back of their car at around 50mph, causing it to veer across the carriageway and crash into the central reservation.
Passenger feared husband was dead
One witness who stopped at the scene found Mr Prescott unresponsive in the driver's seat. The motorist struggled to look at Mrs Prescott due to the extent of her injuries as she cried: "My husband has died. He's dead."
Mrs Prescott, 65, suffered displaced open fractures to her ankle and wrist and several broken ribs. She underwent a nine-hour operation to save and reconstruct her right leg and remains in a wheelchair. Mr Prescott, 64, sustained rib fractures, a broken sternum and a spinal vertebra. The couple were transferred to Preston Hospital together eight days later.
Phone analysis revealed TikTok use
Haddow, of Wood Close in Kirkham, Lancashire, initially claimed the car had slowed down in front of him and that he had attempted to change lane. He said he had been "listening to TikTok live performance of a singer" and had "never touched his phone".
But analysis of his iPhone 15 found the handset had been unlocked 21 times in the two hours before the crash, including a period of up to eight minutes immediately prior to the collision when the TikTok app was active. Facebook, Safari and Apple Mail had also been used. Jonathan Keane, prosecuting, said: "In essence, the phone, the crown say, was clearly in the defendant's reach within that cabin."
Sentencing remarks
Recorder Anna Price said Haddow's actions had had a "terrible impact" on the victims. She noted the speed limit on the smart motorway was 40mph, clearly indicated on overhead gantries, while Haddow was travelling at an estimated 53mph. She said: "This is not a case where you used your mobile phone once. The evidence shows that you used it repeatedly over the course of the journey and in the lead up to this collision taking place."
Haddow, who has no previous convictions, was jailed for 28 months and banned from driving for two years and nine months. He must pass an extended retest before being allowed back behind the wheel. His partner, who is pregnant with their third child, told him "I love you so much" as he was led to the cells.
