Jail for trucker who killed driver on London to Brighton rally

A lorry driver has been jailed for 20 months after he killed a vintage car enthusiast who had taken a wrong turn on the London to Brighton rally and ended up on the M23.

Michael Black, 52, was on his phone when he hit the back of Ronald Carey’s 1903 Knox Model C car, throwing him and his wife Billi into the road.

Mr Carey, 80, a millionaire oil tycoon, died of his injuries and his wife was also seriously hurt in the November 2019 incident.

Black was driving his tipper lorry on the M23 near Merstham, Surrey, on his way to dispose of a load.

The couple had travelled from their native Canada to take part in the Veteran Car Run.

Analysis of Black’s phone showed that a call was in progress at the time of the collision.

The trucker claimed that he simply did not see the car in front of him until it was too late as a result of ‘looming’ and the distraction of the sun.

Temporary Detective Constable Kelly Newton, from Surrey Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said today (thurs): ‘This was a tragic set of events which sadly resulted in the loss of Mr Carey’s life and serious injury to Mrs Carey

‘Our thoughts remain with Mr Carey’s family and I hope that the guilty verdict today will help them begin to come to terms with their loss and to start to move on with their lives.

‘He was…distracted by the use of his mobile phone.

‘I hope that the fact that he has received a prison sentence sends a clear message to other drivers – that losing concentration, even for a few seconds, can have devastating consequences.’

Black, of Crawley, West Sussex, denied but was convicted of causing death by careless driving at Guildford Crown Court.