Lorry driver who checked mobile phone for 18 seconds causing death crash is jailed for five years
A lorry driver has been jailed for five years after he was caught checking his phone for 18 seconds prior to a fatal crash.
Recovery driver David Shields, 34, crashed into mum-of-four Yvonne Blackman’s car while in a line of traffic in Dumfries last February.
He had previously admitted a charge of death by dangerous driving.
Dashcam footage from his cab showed Shields, of Drongan, East Ayrshire, looking a his phone for a full 18 seconds in the lead-up to the fatal crash.
Sixty-six year old Mrs Blackman died in hospital several weeks after the crash.
The Lockerbie native was driving to meet friends when the fatal collision occurred on the morning of February 8, 2017.
She had become caught up in heavy traffic on the A75 Gretna to Stranraer road at the time of the tragedy.
Shields ploughed into the back of her Toyota Yaris in his recovery truck after getting caught in the same traffic. He was working for 911 Rescue Recovery.
Mrs Blackman also had 18 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.