'Shocking' moment van driver distracted on phone crashes into broken-down car in Sussex
Video shows a driver distracted on his phone before crashing into a broken-down car. Credit Sussex Police.
Dashcam footage and video inside the vehicle shows the moment a van driver, distracted on his phone, crashed into a car that had broken down in Sussex.
Nathan Cole was travelling at 72mph, 12mph over the speed limit for his vehicle, and struck the car that had stopped on the A27 dual carriageway at Southbourne in December 2023.
He later admitted he had been checking social media on his phone before he crashed.
The driver of the car that was hit, a man in his 60s from Hampshire, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
He remained in a coma over the Christmas period, and had to have his leg amputated.
Cole, 29, of Denton Drive, Brighton, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving at a hearing at Worthing Magistrates' Court.
He was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court to two years and four months in prison and was disqualified from driving for four years and four months.
The court was told how the incident happened at 12.10pm on 13 December 2023 on the A27 at Southbourne.
Cole failed to see the hazard ahead of him on a long, straight stretch of road, as dashcam footage showed he was distracted on his phone.
The Volkswagen van he was driving collided with a Peugeot car which had broken down.
The driver of the car, a man in his 60s from Hampshire, was struck directly by the van and was taken to hospital.
The victim's family said his injuries and treatment are a "daily reminder of a tragedy that has reshaped every aspect of our lives".
Det Con Sean Corbin from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "This was a shocking case which has changed the life of the victim and his family forever.
"Cole admitted that he was distracted while driving.
"He was extremely fortunate that he did not cause a fatal collision that day
"His reckless driving posed a both to himself and to every other road user.
"It acts as a warning to all drivers not to be driving at excess speed and not to drive while distracted.
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