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The force of the impact pushed Aitchison’s vehicle into a stationary tanker, causing a fire that destroyed the car and killed him instantly
UK trucker gets 10-year jail term | Image: X
A truck driver who was using his phone to view social media and explicit images while driving has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for causing a fatal crash near Lancashire, UK.
Neil Platt, 43, of Bootle, Merseyside, admitted at Preston Crown Court to causing death by dangerous driving in the collision on 17 May 2024, which killed 46-year-old Daniel Aitchison.
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According to police evidence presented in court, Platt had been scrolling through X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp, YouTube and TikTok during his three-hour journey from Dumfries, Scotland, to Liverpool.
Moments before impact, naked images appeared on his X feed.
Aitchison, a married father of two, was driving a Hyundai Kona and speaking on a hands-free call with his partner, Kerry, when Platt’s heavy goods vehicle (HGV) struck his car from behind.
The force of the impact pushed Aitchison’s vehicle into a stationary tanker, causing a fire that destroyed the car and killed him instantly.
Police photographs showed Platt sitting in his cab with his head in his hands after the crash.
Dashcam footage and phone analysis revealed he repeatedly interacted with his phone and looked at the road only briefly.
In interviews, he claimed he had been checking his journey time.
Judge Ian Unsworth KC, while sentencing, told Platt: “Your arrogant and selfish attitude to driving was quite breathtaking. You willingly and without any excuse chose to ignore the laws of the road. In short, you were a multi-ton accident waiting to happen. You were distracted by doing something so mind-blowingly stupid. You were not paying attention to what was ahead but you were paying attention to your phone.”
Platt will serve two-thirds of his sentence in custody and will be subject to a seven-year driving ban.
In a statement read to the court, Aitchison’s wife said: “He was just coming home to me and the kids. Their hero has gone. Telling the kids is and always will be the hardest thing I will do in my lifetime.”
Their 17-year-old daughter described her father as a “good man driven by family and a pure love of life,” adding: “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.”
United Kingdom (UK)
September 21, 2025, 16:59 IST
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