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This is the shocking moment a lorry driver was scrolling on his phone searching for a podcast seconds before he smashed into a broken-down car narrowly avoiding a family.
Footage taken inside the cab of the lorry shows Raymond Catterall, 44, repeatedly looking at his device as he searched for a production to entertain him as he drove along the A55 in North Wales.
A court heard on Friday that he had been travelling on the eastbound carriageway at Tal-y-Bont, near Bangor, at about 2pm on May 15 last year.
Distracted by his phone search, Catterall was oblivious to a stranded vehicle up and ahead.
NorthWalesLive reports he had driven his 7.5 tonne Mercedes Benz “Atego” model lorry into a Kia Rio, narrowly missing a family. Catterall got out of his cab and went to get help from a nearby property.
Police found him there, and Catterall told PC Daniel Owen he came upon a car and swerved out of the way. The aftermath of the collision caused significant delays, the court heard.
Catterall initially claimed the car had “pulled out” in front of him but later pleaded guilty to a dangerous driving charge and using a mobile phone at the wheel.
A judge at Caernarfon Crown Court on Friday said the incident was a reminder of why drivers should not use phones at the wheel. He gave Catterall an eight-month jail term but suspended it for 18 months.
Prosecutor William Griffin said the defendant’s lorry had collided with the back end of a car, which had been half in the inside lane and half on the verge.
Mr Griffin said Catterall admitted he should have seen the broken-down car but suggested it had pulled out in front of him. When asked if he had been distracted Catterall replied “not that he could remember,” said Mr Griffin.
Simon Mintz, defending, said: “He was trying to find a podcast, for what it’s worth, but that was enough of a distraction for him to not see the car on the carriageway.” He said his client is very sorry and has “plenty of remorse”.
He has worked for Johnsons Workwear for 28 years, “man and boy”, and will lose his licence. Mr Mintz added: “Is not this another illustration why none of us should use a phone while driving?”
The judge, His Honour Timothy Petts told Catterall, of Maghull, Merseyside, said the collision was “entirely avoidable”.
He said Catterall was a man of previous good character and imposed the suspended sentence for the dangerous driving offence.
He ordered the defendant to do 150 hours of unpaid work and wear an electronic tag from 7pm to 7am during a three-month curfew as punishment.
He was also disqualified for 12 months for each of the dangerous driving and using a mobile phone whilst driving offences, with the terms to run concurrently. He must pass an extended retest before he can drive again.
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