A British truck driver faces five years in prison after killing a man in a crash caused by the distraction of using a mobile phone.
Paul Browning admitted to causing death by dangerous driving in the June accident, but he had denied sending the text message on the mobile phone, saying blowing papers in the truck cab had distracted him and he had only glanced at his mobile phone to see if his girlfriend and sent him a message.
The judge, after hearing witnesses, decided that the trucker had indeed been keying in a text message while he was driving.
The victim, Paul Hammond, was standing next to his mother's car, speaking to her through the window, when Browning's truck veered off the roadway and hit the parked cars.
The text message found on Browning's telephone read, "Oh yes! A real scorcher! Well, just leaving Benfleet 4 West Thurrock job no 7 of 11. S***! Call you back." The prosecution claimed, and the judge agreed, that Browning had sent the last sentence of the message after the crash occurred and the truck had come to a stop.
British safety advocates are calling for officials to make it illegal to use a mobile phone while driving, even hands-free versions.
Paul Browning admitted to causing death by dangerous driving in the June accident, but he had denied sending the text message on the mobile phone, saying blowing papers in the truck cab had distracted him and he had only glanced at his mobile phone to see if his girlfriend and sent him a message.
The judge, after hearing witnesses, decided that the trucker had indeed been keying in a text message while he was driving.
The victim, Paul Hammond, was standing next to his mother's car, speaking to her through the window, when Browning's truck veered off the roadway and hit the parked cars.
The text message found on Browning's telephone read, "Oh yes! A real scorcher! Well, just leaving Benfleet 4 West Thurrock job no 7 of 11. S***! Call you back." The prosecution claimed, and the judge agreed, that Browning had sent the last sentence of the message after the crash occurred and the truck had come to a stop.
British safety advocates are calling for officials to make it illegal to use a mobile phone while driving, even hands-free versions.
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