Distracted van driver jailed after crash kills motorist

A van driver distracted when checking the fuel consumption on his Ford Transit Custom has been jailed after he collided with another vehicle.

Charles Ryan (28) was sentenced to four years and three months in prison after pleading guilty to causing the death of 40-year-old Craig Melville at Northampton Crown Court, following the crash on the A14 in October 2022.

At a sentencing hearing on January 15, Ryan, formerly of Bees Lane in Tydd St Giles, Cambridgeshire, was also disqualified from driving for two years, which will come into force once he’s released from prison.

He was travelling along the eastbound carriageway of the A14 at about 4pm on October 10, 2022, when he became distracted by the vehicle’s onboard computer system as he wanted to know if he had enough fuel to get home.

The traffic ahead had started to slow to allow the recovery of a silver Ford Fusion car, which had broken down in the nearside lane. However, Ryan was still travelling at about 70mph in the right-hand overtaking lane.

The court heard that the driver of the car travelling immediately in front of Ryan moved left into the nearside lane, after they noticed in their rear-view mirror that the van did not appear to be slowing down.

When Ryan finally looked up, it was too late and his van collided with the rear of Melville’s silver Volkswagen Polo at speed, causing extensive damage to the car as it spun out of control before coming to rest in the overtaking lane.

Melville from Weldon, near Corby, was airlifted to the University Hospital Coventry. However, three days later, he sadly died from the serious head injuries he’d sustained in the collision.

Following an investigation by Northamptonshire Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, Ryan was charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

He appeared before Northampton Magistrates’ Court on October 5, where his case was sent to the county’s crown court, and on November 23, he pleaded guilty to causing Melville’s death and the case was adjourned for sentencing.

Following the sentencing hearing, Detective Inspector Ryan Catling, of the serious collision investigation unit, said: “The devastation Charles Ryan’s actions have caused will live beyond the sentence which has been imposed by the courts.

“Ryan admitted he was distracted with the thought of getting home on the fuel he had left in his vehicle. As a result of his lapse of concentration about what was happening on the road ahead, he robbed Craig Melville of the same opportunity of getting home safely.

“Mr Melville was a much-loved husband and father with a wide circle of family and friends, who all thought the absolute world of him. His death has left a family completely and forever heartbroken and no sentence will ever make up for their loss.

“He had been travelling in convoy with his wife at the time of the collision. Ryan may have lost his liberty for a few years, but Mrs Melville will never be able to forget what she witnessed in the rear-view mirror that day.”

He added: “Reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads remains the priority for Northamptonshire Police and our partners at the Northamptonshire Safer Roads Alliance, and I’m pleased the courts have dealt with this driver robustly.”