Nottinghamshire Police has released this dashcam footage after a lorry driver was jailed for causing serious injury by dangerous driving following a crash in Newark.
David Price, 65, of Chapel Lane, Manby, Lincolnshire, was sentenced to 18 months in prison when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, 7 November after pleading guilty. He was also handed a 29-month driving ban.
Price was driving on the A17 at Newark on the afternoon of 8 June 2018 when he failed to react in time to the queuing traffic ahead. His lorry smashed into the back of a Renault Clio, causing a chain reaction as the Clio collided into the back of an Audi A1 which was launched forward into the back of a lorry.
The driver of the Clio, a Leeds University student who was travelling from Norwich to Leeds, suffered serious life-changing injuries including a bleed on her brain, a broken back, broken neck, broken arm, broken ribs and a broken nose.
She needed a number of operations and had to withdraw from university due to her injuries. The driver of the Audi, who was travelling to Leeds to visit her daughter, also suffered significant injuries which resulted in her having time off work.
In a victim personal statement she said she ‘believed she was going to die that day’ and felt ‘lucky to have survived’. Prior to the crash, as he approached the queuing traffic, Price was driving at about 55mph, colliding with the back of the Clio at 49mph.
Tests showed that Price applied emergency braking when he was approximately 15 metres away from the Clio. At 55mph it would have taken approximately 50 metres for the lorry to apply emergency braking and stop.
Inspector Heather Sutton, Neighbourhood Policing Inspector for the Newark and Sherwood area, said: "We have issued the dashcam footage, with the agreement of the victims, as a warning to drivers to pay attention when behind the wheel.
"Price’s dangerous driving caused catastrophic life-changing injuries within the space of a few seconds.
"It could all have been avoided if he had paid attention when behind the wheel. Now he has time to reflect on the consequences of his actions in prison."
Those who spend more time driving than others, such as taxi, private hire, delivery drivers and lorry drivers are at a higher risk of having a motor vehicle collision and need to take extra care not to get distracted and are advised to take regular breaks when driving for long periods.
