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A football agent who sent a string of text messages before losing control of his car and killing a highways worker has been jailed for seven years.
Peter Morrison, 37, was driving his Mercedes ML350 4x4 on the M6 near Tebay in Cumbria, on 21 February 2016, when he hit and killed Adam Gibb, 51, and left his colleague, Paul Holroyd, now 53, paralysed from the chest down.
The two men, who were working for Highways England, had been standing watching the recovery of two vehicles which had crashed in what the court was told were “atrocious” weather conditions.
Jurors heard Morrison had been driving at a “grossly excessive” speed when his car swerved off the southbound carriageway, across the hard shoulder, rebounded off a rock and hit his victims
.
Morrison had exchanged 25 texts during his 23-mile journey from Glasgow to Manchester, during which he drove at an average speed of 81mph.
A 50mph limit was in place because of the poor weather conditions, which one motorist described as “almost like driving through a car wash”.
He sent his last text 96 seconds before the crash, to the Nottingham Forest footballer Zach Clough.
The message contained a link to footage of a goal the striker had scored. Clough responded, in a text received by the agent’s phone after the crash: “Not bad was it, ha ha.”
Another conversation was held with the Manchester City player Cameron Humphreys.
Another message received by Morrison, from a fellow agent, reached his phone 45 seconds before impact.
The former footballer, who played for Bolton Wanderers and Scunthorpe United before his career was cut short by injury, admitted careless driving but denied the more serious charge of dangerous driving.
A jury at Carlisle crown court unanimously found him guilty of both offences in November.
Sentencing the father of one at Liverpool crown court on Friday, Mr Justice William Davis told Morrison the jail term he was imposing did not begin to reflect “the true value of the lives you have wrecked”.
“In my view, you were significantly distracted by your mobile phone and allowed yourself to be so,” he said.
In a letter to the court, Morrison stated: “I will punish myself mentally for this until the day I die.”
Peter Morrison, 37, was driving his Mercedes ML350 4x4 on the M6 near Tebay in Cumbria, on 21 February 2016, when he hit and killed Adam Gibb, 51, and left his colleague, Paul Holroyd, now 53, paralysed from the chest down.
The two men, who were working for Highways England, had been standing watching the recovery of two vehicles which had crashed in what the court was told were “atrocious” weather conditions.
Jurors heard Morrison had been driving at a “grossly excessive” speed when his car swerved off the southbound carriageway, across the hard shoulder, rebounded off a rock and hit his victims
.
Morrison had exchanged 25 texts during his 23-mile journey from Glasgow to Manchester, during which he drove at an average speed of 81mph.
A 50mph limit was in place because of the poor weather conditions, which one motorist described as “almost like driving through a car wash”.
He sent his last text 96 seconds before the crash, to the Nottingham Forest footballer Zach Clough.
The message contained a link to footage of a goal the striker had scored. Clough responded, in a text received by the agent’s phone after the crash: “Not bad was it, ha ha.”
Another conversation was held with the Manchester City player Cameron Humphreys.
Another message received by Morrison, from a fellow agent, reached his phone 45 seconds before impact.
The former footballer, who played for Bolton Wanderers and Scunthorpe United before his career was cut short by injury, admitted careless driving but denied the more serious charge of dangerous driving.
A jury at Carlisle crown court unanimously found him guilty of both offences in November.
Sentencing the father of one at Liverpool crown court on Friday, Mr Justice William Davis told Morrison the jail term he was imposing did not begin to reflect “the true value of the lives you have wrecked”.
“In my view, you were significantly distracted by your mobile phone and allowed yourself to be so,” he said.
In a letter to the court, Morrison stated: “I will punish myself mentally for this until the day I die.”
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Terrible behaviour txting and driving should have known a lot better at his age. Took 2 lives cos he was probably looking at his phone and will be out in 5. Cars r weapons that kill put the courts and law don't see that. You see plenty of people driving txting or whatever there doing on there phones. Pretty sad in reality that people have to check there phones so often
At traffic lights yesterday just before lights to my left is Barkingside police station, car came from the other way cutting across the road from the other side to go into the station entrance for staff only, she was on her mobile phone cut right across our car as though It wasn't there, I wanted to get out & give her a mouthful, my wife says she would drive off if I got out 
A football agent? Can picture the kn0b now poncing around in a fast car, full of his own importance. Sickening loss of life.
25 texts and also messages on whats APP ,throw the Keys away imo... Hopefully there maybe a Bit of Back door action for Him while in there ,he can send a few texts out about that ..
Pump you should have Gone into the Police station and Reported her ,they could have got the Phone off her she would not have a leg to stand on ..
A 50mph limit was in place because of the poor weather conditions, which one motorist described as “almost like driving through a car wash”.
The former footballer, who played for Bolton Wanderers and Scunthorpe United before his career was cut short by injury, admitted careless driving but denied the more serious charge of dangerous driving.
Poor weather conditions yet he didn't think it was dangerous driving. 7 years isn't enough.
The former footballer, who played for Bolton Wanderers and Scunthorpe United before his career was cut short by injury, admitted careless driving but denied the more serious charge of dangerous driving.
Poor weather conditions yet he didn't think it was dangerous driving. 7 years isn't enough.
Kills someone through dangerous driving,leaves another maimed and gets 7 years ? For heaven's sake Adam Johnson got 6 and a half years for not having sex with a 15 year old and being a poor role model ! Good job that fella wasn't a footballer !
casemoney
Pump you should have Gone into the Police station and Reported her ,they could have got the Phone off her she would not have a leg to stand on ..
I thought about that case but the problem with that is the Police station actually closed to the public a couple of weeks back, there are still staff in the building but the public have been redirected to three other police stations two of which are more than five miles away
Pump you should have Gone into the Police station and Reported her ,they could have got the Phone off her she would not have a leg to stand on ..
I thought about that case but the problem with that is the Police station actually closed to the public a couple of weeks back, there are still staff in the building but the public have been redirected to three other police stations two of which are more than five miles away
That does help to keep the crime level rates down a tad ! Why bother reporting a crime if it is a remote police station ?
That's happened round here pumphol. Someone wrote my vehicle off in a crash and drove away last year. Not only would the Police not attend, but I had to taxi home for my own documents, then taxi a few miles to a Police station to produce the documents before they would begin looking for the driver. They still haven't found him.
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