A LORRY driver who was distracted by a LADbible video on his phone causing a devastating crash which killed three people has been jailed.

Michal Kopaniarz was behind the wheel of a heavy goods vehicle when he ploughed into three stationary vehicles, instantly killing three people on the westbound carriageway of the A303 at Picket Twenty, Andover, in the early morning of August 25, 2021.

Alexandra Britton, 28, was the driver of a Vauxhall Astra that had broken down on the inside lane when Tina Ince, aged 58, stopped her food delivery truck to see if she could help. Thomas Watson, aged 30, was driving a flatbed recovery vehicle on his way to another job when he also stopped to try and help move Alexandra’s car from the carriageway.

Kopaniarz failed to see the three stationary vehicles ahead of him on the carriageway as he was on his phone. He ploughed his heavy goods vehicle into them and all three were instantly killed.

He was travelling at 56mph.

On Friday, February 25, Kopaniarz, of Park Road, Donnington, Shropshire, appeared at Winchester Crown Court and was jailed for 12 years.

He previously pleaded guilty to three counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of perverting the course of justice.

During the investigation, police found dashcam footage that showed Kopaniarz breaking his mobile phone in half shortly after the collision had occurred and then discarding the two parts into the verge along with the SIM card.

 

Having retrieved the broken parts, and crucially, the SIM card, police were able to rebuild it and recover enough evidence to prove that Kopaniarz had shared and watched a LADbible video on Facebook which was seven minutes and 28 seconds in length, while driving prior to the collision and had been typing his destination into his phone for directions at the time of the collision.

In sentencing, Judge Angela Morris said Kopaniarz demonstrated a "lamentable lack of respect for the rules of the road". 

She said: "You were still travelling at speed at the point of impact. 

"I have watched all of the dashcam and CCTV footage.

"Tina Ince and Thomas Watson could not have acted with more care and attention to make sure motorists saw them. 

"These three families have had more than enough pain to contend with."