A lorry driver who killed a father-of-two while viewing pornography on his mobile phone has been jailed for ten years. Neil Platt (43) from Bootle, Merseyside, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at Preston Crown Court.
Danny Aitchison (46) died instantly when Platt's HGV ploughed into his Hyundai Kona on the M58 near Skelmersdale on May 17 last year. The father-of-two was driving home from work when the collision occurred.
Distracted by explicit content
Platt was viewing photographs of naked women on X, formerly Twitter, while driving at 54mph as he neared the end of his journey from Dumfries to Liverpool. In-cab dashcam footage showed him repeatedly touching his phone screen, only looking up fleetingly at the road ahead.
The experienced HGV driver only attempted to brake 35 metres from Mr Aitchison's car - just 1.5 seconds before impact. The collision forced the Hyundai into the back of a second lorry, causing it to burst into flames and leaving the vehicle unrecognisable.
Judge's condemnation
Judge Ian Unsworth KC branded Platt "a multi-tonne accident waiting to happen" as he delivered the sentence. "Your arrogant and selfish attitude to driving was quite breath-taking," the judge told him.
"You willingly and without any excuse chose to ignore the laws of the road. This was not a one-off glance on your phone... you were looking at such things as X, TikTok and YouTube," Judge Unsworth added.
The judge emphasised that Platt had travelled well over 100 miles "in what was sometimes a highly distracted state". An investigation revealed Platt had continually accessed WhatsApp, Facebook, X and TikTok during his journey.
Family's devastating loss
Danny's partner Kerry was speaking to him hands-free when the crash occurred. "When he was hit the phone went off immediately. I thought his battery had run out of charge," she told the court in a victim impact statement.
"I continually thought I am going to walk into this house and change their lives forever. Telling the kids is and always will be the hardest thing I will do in my life-time," Kerry added. The couple's children, Ella (17) and Jack (10), were left devastated by their father's death.
Ella addressed Platt directly in her statement to court: "You didn't mean to kill my dad, and all that died alongside him, but you must have known your actions could have killed someone."
Experienced driver's inexcusable behaviour
According to the Liverpool Echo, Platt had 15 years of HGV driving experience, making his distracted driving behaviour even more inexcusable. The Manchester Evening News reported that Danny had been collecting a company car from a Blackpool garage when he was killed.
The family's trauma was compounded by having to wait weeks for Danny's funeral due to DNA identification requirements following the severe crash. In a touching detail, the Manchester Evening News revealed that Danny had bought flashcards for Ella's GCSE chemistry exam the night before the crash.
Wider implications
Detective Sergeant Matthew Davidson of Lancashire Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit said Platt's "selfish decision took the life of a father, partner, brother and son". He urged drivers to "think of Danny" before reaching for their phones while driving.
Platt was also disqualified from driving for 13 years and eight months and must take an extended retest. The case highlights ongoing concerns about phone-distracted driving, with recent studies suggesting nine in ten motorists use their devices while driving despite £200 fines and six penalty points.
Sources used: "Daily Mail", "Liverpool Echo", "BBC", "Metro", "Manchester Evening News", "Mirror"
Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
