Speeding van driver jailed over fatal Pilham road crash

Aiden Lee was jailed for six years at Lincoln Crwon Court

A speeding van driver who caused a fatal crash on a rural Lincolnshire road has been jailed for six years.

Aidan Lee, 20, from Leicestershire, was driving on Pilham Lane near Gainsborough on 1 March last year when he collided with a Mini Cooper.

Lincoln Crown Court heard the driver of the Mini, Stephen Sowerby, 57, died after becoming trapped inside his car, which was on fire.

Lee was also banned from driving for eight years.

The court heard Lee, who was driving a white Ford Transit van, had reached speeds of up to 90mph (144km/h) shortly before the crash and had also exchanged WhatsApp messages with his sister.

A police accident investigator found the primary cause of the crash was Mr Sowerby's failure to give way adequately at a minor road joining Pilham Lane.

However, the investigator said there would have been enough time to avoid the crash if Lee had stuck to the 50mph (80km/h) speed limit.

A tracking device fitted to Lee's van showed 12 "speeding events" during his 17-minute journey from Bottesford, near Scunthorpe, to where the crash happened.

The crash happened on Pilham Lane, between Pilham and Corringham near Gainsborough

Sarah Knight, prosecuting, said Lee had also admitted smoking three or four cannabis joints 72 hours before the crash.

A drugs test carried out eight hours later showed the defendant was still significantly over the prescribed limit for cannabis, the court was told.

Analysis of Lee's mobile phone showed an exchange of WhatsApp messages with his sister and "a brief" use of Facebook in the minutes leading up the crash.

Ms Knight told the court Lee also used his phone to take a photograph of his wrecked Ford Transit van in the moments after the crash.

Lee, of Whitcrofts lane in Ulverscroft, near Markfield, admitted a charge of causing Mr Sowerby's death by driving dangerously on 1 March last year.

Passing sentence, Judge Sjolin Knight told Lee that while she accepted he was not using his phone at the time of the collision his use of social media and cannabis showed "a disregard for other road users".

"This was an entire journey of dangerous driving, some 17 minutes from start to finish," the judge said.

She added that Lee had also put his own passenger at risk and made "insensitive comments" to a HGV driver who stopped at the scene to help.

Speaking at the conclusion of the case, Det Sgt Emma Ward, lead investigating officer, said: "The speeds driven by Aiden Lee were excessive and dangerous.

"His driving was impaired through cannabis use and the use of his mobile phone, all of which are well documented to change how a driver reacts to events on the road."

She said the "irresponsible decisions" made by Lee had resulted in the death of "a loved and respected" man.

"Our thoughts are with his family."