Lorry driver who killed father-of-two in horror collison was distracted by pornographic images on his phone seconds before crash

Neil Platt, 43 of Bootle, Merseyside, was found to have been checking his phone regularly during the three-hour journey on May 17, 2024. The journey saw him travel from Dumfries, Scotland, along the M6 before joining the westbound carriageway on the M58.

It was near junction four that he collided into the back of Danny Aitchison’s Hyundai Kona car after failing to notice the stationary traffic in front of him. Mr Aitchison, 46, was waiting at the end of a traffic queue when his car was pushed into the rear of a tanker and exploded into flames on impact.

Platt was described as being “heavily distracted” by his mobile phone at the time after photographs of naked women appeared on his X (formerly Twitter) feed. The crash occurred just before 1pm, just after police had earlier put a roadblock in place after reports of a woman pedestrian on the motorway. The court heard that Platt failed to notice the stationary traffic, only applying his brakes 35 metres away from Mr Aitchison’s car and 1.5 second before the impact.

Judge Ian Unsworth KC, presiding Platt’s sentencing at Preston Crown Court on Friday (September 19), said: “Your arrogant and selfish attitude to driving was quite breathtaking.

“You willingly and without any excuse chose to ignore the laws of the road. This was not a one-off glance on your phone… you were looking at such things as X, TikTok and YouTube.

“The collision that occurred could have happened anywhere along that journey. The blunt reality is you travelled well over 100 miles in what was sometimes a highly distracted state. In short, you were a multi-tonne accident waiting to happen.”

Platt previously pleaded guilty to causing the death of Mr Aitchison. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail.

Judge Unsworth remarked that while there was no suggestion that Platt had been actively searching for pornographic images while scrolling on his phone, he had “prioritised looking at social media” ahead of the safety and welfare of other road users. He added: “You were distracted by doing something so mindblowingly stupid. You were not paying attention to what was ahead but you were paying attention to your phone.

“It beggars belief that while in charge of that muli-tonne vehicle you were looking at social media and scrolling X in which some of the content was pornographic in nature.”

Stephen McNally, defending, described his client as “family-orientated” and “genuinely remorseful” over the fatal collision. He said: “Even though the defendant’s mobile phone was in a cradle and in front of him, this case provides an object lesson in demonstrating that even for the most experienced of drivers, not giving the road your undivided attention and concentration can have the most devastating consequences.”

Mr Aitchison was father to 17-year-old daughter Ella and 10-year-old son Jack. His partner Kerry told the court that she was speaking to him on the phone at the time of the crash and believed that his battery had run out of charge when the call ended.

She said: “I feel angry he has lost his life in such a way. He was just coming home to me and the kids. Their hero has gone.”

Mr Aitchison’s mother Jeanette Aitchison added: “Danny had a good relationship with every member of our family. He was a constant presence in their lives.

“He was the centre of our family, he was always there for his friends and colleagues, Danny would do anything for anyone. The loss of Danny has had a significant impact on me and my family. Quite simply, I feel devastated.

“The decision to drive while scrolling for a prolonged period of time on a mobile phone, let alone using a HGV, is utterly crazy.”

His family also told the court that their anguish over his death was further impacted due to not being able to hold a funeral for him until DNA tests identified his body.