Lorry driver killed 3 after browsing sex websites at the wheel
A LORRY driver killed three people when he ploughed into stationary traffic on a motorway while browsing adult dating sites on his mobile phone, a court heard the Ion internet Onut, yesterday. 41, for had 40 minutes been on looking relationships for casual while driving sexual
his He HGV did not at slow over down 50mph. or brake as his 3.5-tonne truck smashed into a line of vehicles on the A1(M) in County Durham in July last year.
Yesterday, Romanian national Onut was jailed for eight years and ten months at Durham Crown Court for causing death by dangerous driving.
Devoted couple David Daglish, 57, and Elaine Sullivan, 59, from Seaham, County Durham, and Paul Mullen, 51, of Washington, Tyne and Wear, were killed in the horrific accident. Three others suffered serious physical and psychological injuries.
Onut’s HGV smashed into cars, caught fire from another vehicle that burst into flames, crossed the central reservation and came to rest on the opposite carriageway. It was only through the bravery of another trucker, Michael Hosty, who pulled him from his cab, that Onut survived. Onut, who lived in the Scottish borders, admitted three counts of causing death by dangerous driving at a previous hearing. The court heard other motorists thought he was asleep at the wheel as the truck swerved across lanes moments before the crash.
Passing sentence, Judge James Adkin told him: ‘You were not asleep, which in itself would have been bad enough, in fact you were trawling a dating site looking for casual sexual partners and failed to see the traffic slow and stop in front of you. The consequences were catastrophic.’ Prosecutor Nick Dry said the lorry driver’s mobile was ‘in constant use’ during the 29 minutes before the accident as Onut used two adult sites, Shag Today and Mystic Match. ‘His speed during that time never dropped below 50mph,’ he said.
Mr Dry said Onut was ‘utterly engrossed in his pursuit of sexual gratification’ and was ‘utterly oblivious’ to the traffic in front of him. The impact with Mr Mullen’s Toyota Hilux caused a chain of collisions, resulting in the Vauxhall Crossland of Mr Daglish and Miss Sullivan being crushed.
Her soldier son Junior Sullivan told the court that a career in the military had not prepared him for the horror of being woken by his heavily pregnant wife with the news both his mother and stepfather were dead.
He said: ‘I was told I could not identify them because their bodies were unrecognisable.’
He also spoke of the ‘unbearable rage’ he felt when seeing drivers on their mobile phones.
The Daily Mail’s End The Mobile Madness campaign has highlighted the dangers of drivers using their mobiles at the wheel and has led calls for tougher penalties.
Lauren Cawton, one of the injured motorists, sobbed as she told how the incident ruined her life. She said: ‘I thought “I’m going to die.” I closed my eyes and awaited the impact. It was the most terrifying moment of my life.’
Lorry driver Mr Hosty said he had been left with PTSD after running to Onut’s blazing cab and dragging him out.
Richard Bloomfield, mitigating, said Onut wished to ‘apologise for the devastation he has caused to so many lives’.
Sergeant Catherine Iley of Durham Police said: ‘This case serves as a dreadful warning of what can happen when drivers use a mobile phone or device ... behind the wheel of a vehicle. Simply put, don’t use one.’