Lorry driver jailed for A38 crash which killed mum

ALORRY driver has been jailed for crashing into a broken-down car on the A38 – killing a muchloved Plymouth mum.

Jack McIntyre, aged 36, never saw the Audi A4 straddling the inside lane before hitting it at 55mph, a court heard.

Mother-of-two Briony Elliott, aged 54, from Stoke, was thrown over the barrier by the impact and fatally injured near the Leigham interchange more than two and a half years ago.

Her daughter Charlotte said in a heart-rending statement read to the court: “This is something that haunts me every day and I am still not on the other side. Perhaps the hardest things are yet to come. She will never meet my future husband, she will never go to my wedding. She will never hold the hand of a future child.”

McIntyre admitted at his trial that he never saw the broken-down car on the eastbound side of the A38 dual carriageway at about 6.35pm on September 11, 2018.

The Audi had both its hazard and rear lights on in the drizzle. McIntyre barely braked or swerved before hitting the rear of the Audi, pushing it into its driver standing in front.

McIntyre, who was driving for Gregory Distribution, was last month found guilty of causing her death by careless driving at Plymouth

Crown Court. He was acquitted of the more serious count of causing death by dangerous driving. The defendant, of Victoria Road, St Budeaux, had denied both charges.

Jailing him for 34 weeks, Judge William

Mousley said that Mrs Elliott had suffered a ‘significant puncture’ and pulled over near the Leigham junction where there was no hard shoulder, with her Audi straddling the inside lane of the dual carriageway. Judge Mousley told McIntyre: “You were driving in lane one of the A38 and for whatever reason you did not see the parked car ahead of you.

“What it was that caused you not to see that vehicle may never be known.”

Prosecutors who recovered in-cab dashcam footage told the jury that he was simply not paying attention and did not operate his windscreen wipers despite the drizzle.

The judge said that a collision investigator had calculated that McIntyre should have seen the vehicle at least six seconds before impact travelling at 55mph. Judge Mousley added that he had ample time to swerve around the car.

Nick Lewin, for McIntyre, said he had been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the crash.

Judge Mousley also banned McIntyre from driving for two years.