Neil Platt was sentenced after he was seen watching adult films on his phone while he was driving before he ploughed into traffic on the M58, killing a father-of-two instantly
A lorry driver who had been branded “arrogant” and “selfish” has been jailed for causing a fatal car crash. It was later revealed he had been watching racy content on his phone moments before he caused the collision.
Neil Platt, 43, was found to be watching adult films while he was making his way up the M58 in Lancashire. However, by the time he looked away from his phone, it was too late and he caused a huge crash that claimed the life of a father-of-two instantly, police said.
Following a lengthy trial, Neil was officially sentenced for his crimes on Friday (September 19). Having pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, Neil was handed a jail stint of ten years.
Preston Crown Court heard how Neil had been reaching the end of his journey from Dumfries in Scotland to Liverpool on May 17, 2024 when he began look away from the road. The Daily Mail reported that he then began to open up X and looked at naked women just seconds before he ploughed into traffic.
Driving at 54 miles-per-hour, Neil only braked when he was 35 metres from the car in front of him. As a result, the lorry immediately crushed the vehicle immediately in front of him, causing the death of dad-of-two Danny Aitchison.
The court also heard the strength of the crash forced Danny’s car to be crushed into the HGV parked in front of it, before the car burst into flames. The 46-year-old had no chance of survival, as the car was left totally unrecognisable.
In an attempt to cover his tracks, Neil told police at the scene that he had only touched his phone to see how long he had been driving for. However, an intense investigation found he had been on several apps in the minutes before the collision – including Facebook, WhatsApp and TikTok.
Dashcam footage of the lorry shows Neil only momentarily looking on the road before returning to look at his phone. In a victim impact statement, widow Kerry said the family has been left heartbroken, only made worse by the news that Danny had been speaking to her using his hands-free apparatus.
“When Danny was killed, I was on the phone to him, we were having a normal conversation about daily life, we used to speak on the phone regularly throughout the day,” she sobbed. “When he was hit, the phone went off immediately; I thought his battery had run out of charge, I continually tried to call him back without success.”
She added that she found it almost impossible that she would have to be the one to tell their children that their dad was killed. “Telling the kids is and always will be the hardest thing I will do in my life-time.”
Kerry went on to hit out at Neil for his careless driving, saying that Danny “didn’t do anything wrong”, and admitted that “life will never be the same again” without him in their lives. Presiding Judge Ian Unsworth told Neil when sentencing him he needed to live with the reality of what he did.
“Your arrogant and selfish attitude to driving was quite breath-taking,” he insisted. “The blunt reality is you travelled well over 100 miles in what was sometimes a highly distracted state.”
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