Lorry driver, 53, crashed HGV while on 49-minute long video call to his fiancée in the Philippines

A lorry driver who closed off the M25 and A2 for 13 hours after jackknifing his HGV was on a video call to his fiancee in the Philippines when he crashed, a court has heard.

Richard Mills, 53, was reportedly ‘distracted’ by the 49-minute call made via his iPad when his vehicle started to snake across the carriageway at the Darenth Interchange in Kent last year.

After hitting the central reservation, the Renault HGV rebounded back across the lanes, where it smashed through railings and came to a halt – with part of its trailer and several wheels dangling over the A2 below.

The crash, which occurred on April 7 last year, closed the M25, the A2 and the A282 in Dartford for up to 13 hours, resulting in lengthy tailbacks as well as huge disruption and damage amounting to several millions of pounds.

Richard Mills, 53, was reportedly ‘distracted’ by the 49-minute call made via his iPad when his vehicle started to snake across the carriageway at the Darenth Interchange in Kent last year. Pictured, he leaves Maidstone Crown Court this week

Mills was left hanging over the A2 after jackknifing his truck while talking to his fiancee

After hitting the central reservation, the Renault HGV rebounded back across the lanes, where it smashed through railings and came to a halt – with part of its trailer and several wheels dangling over the A2 below 

He told officers his iPad had been on his dashboard, propped up against an old camera when the crash occurred, Maidstone Crown Court, Kent, heard.

The lorry driver denied however that he was distracted and said a diesel spillage on the road had caused his vehicle to slide and crash. Mills, who was living in Kegworth in Leicestershire at the time, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving on trial.

But he admitted the offence yesterday after the prosecution closed its case against him. Mills was given a six-month jail term suspended for 18 months and a year-long driving ban. He will also have to take an extended test to regain his licence.

Judge Robert Lazarus remarked it was ‘not a usual case’ of dangerous driving case involving alcohol, drugs or speeding, and that Mills had made ‘a dreadful error of judgement’.

Earlier in proceedings during legal discussions, the judge had also said he was ‘entirely confident’ that the trucker ‘genuinely believes he wasn’t distracted’.

The lorry driver denied that he was distracted and said a diesel spillage on the road had caused his vehicle to slide and crash

But he added: ‘I suspect the reality is that the defendant had become complacent about being engaged in conversations with his fiancée while he was driving and was, in a sense, taken completely by surprise when he lost control of his vehicle.’

He said that although no one was injured, the ‘harm’ caused in terms of impact was at ‘the highest level’, with investigators estimating it to be several millions of pounds.

‘The M25 in both directions and the A2 in both directions were out of use for some 13 hours. It caused huge disruption to a large number of people and a fairly significant cost in recovering the vehicle from the scene and rendering the bridge over the A2 safe,’ said Judge Lazarus.

Mills, whose trailer was empty at the time of the crash, was on his way to collect a load on behalf of Loughborough-based Eclipse Distribution Solutions, for whom he had worked for 12 years.

At the start of his trial, prosecutor Stacey-lee Holland said: ‘The defendant had been driving his HGV lorry along the M25 when he jack-knifed, hitting the central reservation, rebounded off of that central reservation across the motorway and then crashing through the barrier on the other side, leaving his lorry hanging precariously over the A2.’

Mills, who was living in Kegworth in Leicestershire at the time, pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving on trial. He was however given a six-month jail term suspended for 18 months and a year-long driving ban. He will also have to take an extended test to regain his licence

‘This call had been made via his iPad, which he told officers was sat on the dashboard leaning against an old camera – so not in a proper holder.

‘He stated that he had not been distracted by the call. He also told officers that there had been diesel on the road which had caused his lorry to slide.

‘He said the diesel was why he had crashed and that the crash had nothing to do with his video call.

‘His iPad was seized and the download confirmed he was on a video call when he crashed. He had in fact been on that video call for 49 minutes at the time of the accident.’ 

Mills stated the call may have in fact been voice not video, that he was ‘not sure’ if he was on it when the crash occurred, and if he was, it would have been hands-free.

But Ms Holland said not only did his iPad provide ‘clear evidence’ of his video call, but that Mills’s claim of a diesel spillage was ‘implausible’ when considering an officer’s bodyworn camera footage of the scene.

The court heard that Mills had since married his fiancée, a mother of two, but she had not been able to join him in the UK due to immigration restrictions.

Mills, who lives with his mother and stepfather, had also continued working as a haulier up until he was made redundant last week ‘simply because the work had come to an end’, the court was told.