Shropshire man avoids jail after 10 seconds of careless driving leads to death of woman

Daniel Massey, aged 23, of Sycamore View in Ellesmere, had lost attention for no more than 10 seconds while driving his Mitsubishi L200 4x4 on September 25, 2021, when it crashed into a car parked on the side of a road.

He ploughed into the back of a Skoda Octavia where Anita Heath had been sitting for more than two hours near Sheffield as the family waited for a recovery vehicle. It had a flat tyre on the journey home on the A16 Louth bypass from Skegness. She died at the scene, and brother-in-law Ray Eggleton suffered "catastrophic" injuries.

But a judge who sentenced Massey, formerly of Cannock, to a 10-month custodial sentence suspended for two years said he had been lucky to escape injury as his vehicle was itself launched into the air and landed on its roof as a result of the collision.

The court was told that Massey may have been distracted by something that fell off the dashboard. The prosecution and defence solicitors agreed that his speed had not been over the 60mph speed limit. They agreed that it had been a "tragic but avoidable accident."

There were no mechanical problems, the weather had been clear and the Skoda's hazard lights were on. Other vehicles had passed it successfully.

Recorder Simon King, sitting at Lincoln Crown Court on Thursday said: "The primary focus has to be on the family of the deceased and the badly injured man. My sincere sympathies to them.

"I take the view that the appropriate sentence is one of imprisonment suspended with a significant amount of unpaid work."

The hushed courtroom heard heart-wrenching victim statements from Anita Heath's father and the wife of Ray Eggleton who had been badly injured.

Dawson Heath, Anita's father, said his daughter had been a "fun-loving 42-year-old who lived life to the full."

She had attended special school in Sheffield and had a lack of success in getting a job.

"But she never gave up and worked for 20 years in charity shops," he said.

"At least she was given a chance as a domestic worker at a hospital and 'passed with flying colours'.

"She was loved by everyone at the hospital," his statement read.

She had also been a carer for her father and was a "daughter, friend and rock."

Angela Eggleton, Anita's sister, said her husband's life had been "decimated". He suffered nine broken ribs, some of which could only be replaced by metal, and a collapsed lung, and she became his full-time carer.

"His scars have become a permanent reminder of that day," she said. "He needs help to use the toilet and cannot have a kick-about with his grandchildren."

The judge said he had read a "moving letter" from Massey's mother expressing sorrow to the family of Anita Heath.

He said Massey was a young man who had experienced difficulties in his own life including his schooling.

"Driving gave him freedom to work and make his own way around," the judge said.

"His mum relies on her son to get around and her business," he said. "It is hoped the business will survive."

The judge added that Massey was not the kind of young man he normally sees at the crown court.

"I see plenty of people through the crown court who come through again and again and have little regard for their fellow human beings but this is not Massey.

"In most other respects he has managed to make a place in the world," he said.

He added that the tragedy of the day had not only affected the Heath family but the driver too.

"I am prepared to accept that you are not the sort of bad person who is seen in crown court.

"You failed to pay appropriate care for no more than 10 seconds."

Massey, who was banned from driving for 18 months, was told that because of the circumstances of the crash he would find it "impossible" to be insured to drive even when his ban ended.