Court shown footage of lorry driver on phone before fatal crash

Footage of a lorry driver using his mobile phone to change the music playing in his cab before he caused a crash which killed a mother and three children, was shown to the victims' families in court today.

On October 10 Tomasz Kroker admitted causing the deaths of Tracy, Josh and Ethan Houghton and Aimee Goldsmith by dangerous driving in a collision on the A34 road in Berkshire in August. Today he was sentenced to ten years in jail.

The Vauxhall car in which the group were was crushed to a third of its normal size by the impact of the collision and the weight of a lorry in front of it.

Kroker, 30, was distracted for seven seconds by his mobile phone in the moments leading up to the crash which was captured in dash cam footage.

The father-of-one was also charged with a single count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving following the crash which happened at around 5.10pm on August 10.

The phone distracted him so much he failed to see a line of stationary traffic in front of him which had built up behind a another lorry struggling to climb a hill.

Family and friends of the victims were gathered at court and some wept in the public gallery as the footage was shown.

Prosecutor Charles Jackson-Ward told the court that before Kroker started driving, he was required to fill out a driver's declaration form.

Footage played came from the vehicle's two dash cams. The first camera showed the lorry approaching the line of stationary traffic in front of it before hitting it at speed.

The second showed Kroker scrolling through different music options while pop music played loudly in his cab.

The music continued as he looked up in shock just moments before the lorry collided with the first car in front of it. He grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and braced for impact but it was too late.