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14
Dec 2022
Amazon driver on Snapchat jailed for causing death of Ripon biker
An Amazon delivery driver who caused the death of a motorcyclist by dangerous driving in Ripon has been jailed.
Daniaal Iqbal, 23, was running out of fuel and texting on Snapchat when he knocked over and killed Peter Rushforth on Kirkby Road near Ripon in September 2019.
Iqbal, of Toller Lane, Bradford, denied driving dangerously, but was found guilty by a jury on August 15 this year.
He appeared before York Crown Court this afternoon where he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
Second day of new job
Iqbal, who was on only the second day of his new Amazon delivery job, was also allegedly using a navigational app on his mobile phone when the collision occurred.
He was driving around a sweeping bend on Kirkby Road when he collided with Mr Rushforth’s Suzuki travelling in the opposite direction, the court was told.
Mr Rushforth, 56, was on the correct side of the road as he came around the bend, but Iqbal’s white Transit van was on the wrong side. The side of the van struck Mr Rushforth’s helmet, part of which broke off.
Mr Rushforth and his motorbike then slid along the road towards the grass verge, crashing into a stone wall. He then collided with some tree branches before falling to the ground. Other motorists went to his aid, but he suffered fatal injuries and was certified dead at the scene.
York Crown Court.
The court heard that about 15 minutes before the collision on September 21, Iqbal exchanged five text messages with an Amazon colleague about needing to refuel and arranging to meet up at the Morrisons petrol station in Ripon because he didn’t have a company fuel card.
He then made a delivery in Ripon and was travelling on Kirkby Lane, towards the town, when the crash occurred at about 6.30pm.
Mr Rushforth and his bike were thrown from the road into a nearby wall and then into a tree, the court was told.
Police were called out and Iqbal, who was described as looking “completely shocked”, remained at the scene.
Phone records showed that minutes before the collision, he had carried out a search on the Apple Maps navigation app to get directions to the fuel station.
At 6.30pm, around the time of the crash, records showed that the camera and Snapchat apps on Iqbal’s phone had been activated as he approached the collision site.
Read more:
- Amazon driver found guilty of causing death of Ripon biker
- Amazon driver killed Ripon motorcyclist while he sent Snapchat message, court hears
A forensic officer said his investigation suggested that Iqbal had sent a Snapchat message to a friend at about the time the delivery van came round the bend into the path of Mr Rushforth’s motorbike.
The court heard that Iqbal was "distracted" for 32 seconds in the time that the crash happened.
'Devastated' and 'remorseful'
Katherine Robinson, prosecuting, told the court this afternoon that Iqbal’s use of his phone had caused a “substantial risk of danger”.
However, Felicia Davy, mitigating, said the 23-year-old had never been before the courts before and was a “low risk” of future offending.
Ms Davy said the defendant was “devastated” and “remorseful” and that the case had been delayed for three years.
She said:
Iqbal did “everything appropriate” to help following the crash and has since suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, the defence added.
Judge Simon Hickey sentenced the 23-year-old to three and a half years in prison.
Judge Hickey said while he accepted that Iqbal was a “decent young man” and was “spoken of highly”, he was distracted for too long and caused the death of an “innocent man”.
Iqbal was also disqualified from driving for 45 months.
He will serve half of his sentence before being released on licence.
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