Man jailed for running a red light and killing BAE Systems engineer on A59 as he finished night shift

Preston Crown Court heard Reece Fowler failed to see traffic lights showing stop as he drove at up to 77 mph along the A59 approaching the main entrance to the aerospace factory at Samlesbury.

Martyn Smith, 57, was pulling out of the plant when Fowler ploughed into his Ford Focus. He died at the scene shortly after.

Jailing the 33-year-old after he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, Judge Philip Parry told him: “You were travelling far too fast and paying insufficient, if any, attention to the road ahead.

“Nothing I say or do today can compensate for the fact that Martyn Smith is no longer with us.”

He added that relatives who gave victim impact statements during the hearing spoke about “a remarkable man” whose death had been an “incalculable loss to his entire family.”

“None of us would ever be able to understand the distress his family have endured.”

The court was told that toolmaker Mr Smith had been waiting to pull out of the BAE site at around 5:30am on Friday February 3 last year after completing a night shift.

CCTV played in court showed his traffic lights turned green and he slowly moved off intending to turn right onto the A59 in the direction of his home in Burnley.

The footage captured Fowler’s grey Citroen works van approaching the junction at speed travelling towards Preston and smashing into the Ford Focus.

Both vehicles were extensively damaged in the collision. Fowler suffered minor injuries, but Mr Smith sustained catastrophic trauma caused by the van hitting the driver’s side of his car.

Barrister David Polglase, prosecuting, said one eyewitness, who had been waiting at a red light on the opposite carriageway of the A59, said he heard “an almighty noise like an explosion.”

He said Fowler got out of his damaged van and “wandered around in a daze, as in shock.”

Debris littered the roadway and he saw Mr Smith slumped over the passenger seat of his car still wearing his seatbelt but “apparently unconscious.”

Two women appeared on the scene and one, Ms Carol Cooper, who had also just left BAE, opened the passenger door to comfort Mr Smith. She told police he was struggling for breath and was bleeding. He passed away before paramedics could reach the scene.

Another witness described Fowler as “in a state of panic” and admitted: “I was driving too fast.” He kept asking if Mr Smith was going to be OK.

The court was told that crash investigators had found nothing mechanically wrong with the two vehicles which would have caused them to collide.

Examination of the traffic lights at the junction revealed the red light would have been showing for up to 11 seconds before Fowler sped through it and collided with the Focus.

One police expert said the van had been examined and a tracking system showed that Fowler, who lived just six minutes away from the crash site in Walden Road, Blackburn, had been driving at 50 mph in a 30 mph zone on nearby Mellor Lane and then had hit speeds of up to 77 mph when he got onto the A59 (speed limit 50 mph).

Despite the traffic lights on the westbound A59 showing red for more than 10 seconds, Fowler only appeared to have noticed them when it was too late. There was evidence he had braked – he was travelling at 72 mph five seconds before the crash, slowing to 68 and then 63 on impact.

“The red traffic light signal was showing to the defendant and the last green signal was about 11 seconds prior to him reaching the junction,” said Mr Polglase.

“Mr Smith had right of way. The defendant had more than 200 metres of view of the traffic lights as he approached them.”

When interviewed by police later he refused to answer questions, but submitted a prepared statement in which he offered his condolences to Mr Smith’s family.

He said he didn’t believe he had been travelling at an excessive speed and he hadn’t deliberately gone through the red light. He had “slammed on” but couldn’t avoid the car. And he couldn’t explain why he hadn’t seen the red light earlier.

Fowler, an electrician, had been on his way to Liverpool that morning to pick up a work colleague before driving to Salford on a job.

Family members from both Mr Smith and Fowler packed into Court 7 to hear details of how the tragedy unfolded.

Richard Dawson, representing Fowler said: “This is a tragic case with catastrophic consequences. We can’t help but feel sympathy for those closest to Mr Smith. His family are struggling, understandably so, with his loss.

“Regrettably no-one can restore Mr Smith’s life. No sentence of imprisonment can or will reconcile those present to their loss.”

He told the judge he accepted a custodial sentence was inevitable, but he urged him to make it as short as possible due to the impact it would have on his young family.

“There is no doubt Mr Fowler was driving on approach to the junction at a speed in excess of the speed limit.” But he argued the impact speed was just 63 mph in a 50 mph zone.

His client, he said, had remembered “in his best recollection that the light was showing green.” “Plainly he is wrong. But that is how he remembers things. Plainly his recollection is not accurate.

“He did react to the red light and applied the brakes. But tragically it was too little too late.

“He couldn’t brake in time to avoid the tragic collision. This was not a deliberate decision by him as a driver to run a red light.

“This was a driver who rounded the corner (when) it plainly showed red 200 to 220 metres away. But for a reason we will never fully understand his focus and attention failed.”

The court heard police had examined his mobile phone and found that it had not been a distraction at the time of the crash.

Judge Parry told Fowler: “Mr Smith waited for his lights to turn green (before moving off). He ought to have been safe because your lights were showing red. But he wasn’t safe – you drove through your red light”

He conceded that after reading 15 testimonials from family, friends and work colleagues that Fowler was said to have a “kind nature” was generous and was a good family man. He had shown real remorse for his actions that day and, according to probation officers was unlikely to ever offend again.

His mental health, he added, had suffered as a result of the death of Mr Smith. “I am quite sure you have genuine remorse, and the collision has impacted your mental health.

“It is plain that you didn’t deliberately run through a red light, you simply failed to recognise it was red. But it is not clear why.”

He sentenced Fowler to five years in prison and disqualified him from driving for seven-and-a-half years – he must pass an extended re-test before he can get behind the wheel again.