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Lorry driver jailed for child's crash death on A34 | Lorry driver jailed for child's crash death on A34 |
(35 minutes later) | |
A lorry driver has been jailed for six years for causing the death of a three-year-old girl in a pile-up in which her pregnant mother suffered a miscarriage. | A lorry driver has been jailed for six years for causing the death of a three-year-old girl in a pile-up in which her pregnant mother suffered a miscarriage. |
Thomas Hunter, 59, of Mansfield Road, Mansfield, had admitted causing the eight-vehicle crash on the A34 at Hinksey Hill, Oxford, on 25 August. | Thomas Hunter, 59, of Mansfield Road, Mansfield, had admitted causing the eight-vehicle crash on the A34 at Hinksey Hill, Oxford, on 25 August. |
Isla Wiggin, of Fleet, Hampshire, died two days later. Her mother Collette's unborn son also died in the crash. | Isla Wiggin, of Fleet, Hampshire, died two days later. Her mother Collette's unborn son also died in the crash. |
She told a court Hunter had "completely ruined" her family's lives. | She told a court Hunter had "completely ruined" her family's lives. |
Collette Wiggin also suffered a broken neck when Hunter drove his Volvo lorry into the back of a stationary queue of traffic at 43mph. | |
At Oxford Crown Court, prosecutor Michael Roques said another driver described the lorry "ploughing through all the other vehicles in the queue, scattering them like skittles". | |
Defence barrister Alexander Stein said his client could not remember the crash and had no idea why he had lost concentration for between eight and 10 seconds. | |
The crash forced the closure of the northbound carriageway of the road for almost 10 hours. | |
'Loved being mummy' | |
Mrs Wiggin read her own victim impact statement in court, asking for an example to be made of Hunter to send a message to other drivers. | |
She said: "My perfect life was ripped away from me, as the result of the thoughtless act of another. | |
"I am broken, all I ever wanted to be was a mother, and I absolutely loved being mummy. | |
"He has completely ruined the lives of good people who did nothing at all to deserve it." | |
She added: "A huge part of me died with my children." | |
Hunter admitted causing death by dangerous driving and serious injury by dangerous driving at a hearing last month. | |
Judge Ian Pringle told Hunter he had been "completely oblivious" to the queue of traffic, and had caused "catastrophic damage" to Mrs Wiggin's car. | |
Sgt Beth Walton of Thames Valley Police said the crash was "entirely preventable". | |
"If Hunter had taken care over his driving, and had been paying full attention to the road, Isla would be here today along with baby Harry. | |
"This case shows what the catastrophic consequences can be when drivers are not concentrating when at the wheel." |
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