Crash Caused By Phone Gambler Led To Premature Birth
26 February 2026
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George TorrEast Midlands
A male who was gambling on his phone when he crashed into a vehicle, triggering a to give birth prematurely, has actually been jailed.
Jack Bentley struck a fixed Nissan X-Trail queuing in traffic on the A50 in Hatton, Derbyshire, on 6 April.
Police said the chauffeur of the Nissan suffered whiplash and the pregnant traveler was hurried into medical facility with a fractured hips. Two other children in the same vehicle suffered injuries while the family's animal canine was seriously hurt and needed to undergo emergency surgery.
Bentley, 30, confessed 2 counts of triggering severe injury by hazardous driving and was imprisoned for 28 months at Derby Crown Court and banned from driving for 38 months.
After the crash the pregnant female had to go through an emergency situation Caesarean area, leaving her early infant in extensive take care of a variety of weeks, when she suffered two collapsed lungs.
The infant later on made a healing and was able to go home.
Derbyshire Police stated Bentley, of Meadow Way, Derby, had actually been taking a trip home from Blackpool when the crash happened at 18:45 BST.
A driver in the left-hand lane caught the footage on her dashcam, which was utilized as evidence.
Bentley, driving in the right-hand lane, did not see the fixed traffic and crashed without modifying his speed, cops said.
He was seen previously veering into the grass verge of the eastbound carriageway between junctions 6 and 5, in addition to swerving between lanes.
Bentley was apprehended at the scene. Analysis of his phone data following the crash showed he had been using his phone while driving, visiting online gambling websites, the force said.
'Missed early moments'
In a victim impact statement, the mom stated: "I needed an emergency situation Caesarean due to my baby remaining in distress. I found this very distressing and didn't want my child to be born like that and that early.
"My infant was born without skin-to-skin contact and me and my partner had to wait to see her.
"When you have a baby you expect to be in a bubble with your partner and newborn but we were separated across 3 wards in the medical facility and lost out on so much in those early minutes.
"No mom or dad need to need to go through this.
"The next three weeks we spent in medical facility getting our child strong enough to come home."
Following sentencing on 11 February, PC Richard Morris, from Derbyshire Police, said: "This was an appalling display screen of driving by Bentley, who invested most of his journey distracted by being on his phone.
"I know that the physical, mental and emotional trauma from this occurrence continues to influence on this family, who were just going out their day when this entirely avoidable collision took place."
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