Law student 'distracted by Snapchat' jailed for killing biker with his van on second shift as an Amazon delivery driver in Yorkshire

Daniaal Iqbal, 23, was working only his second shift in the Ripon area when he drifted onto the wrong side of the road and killed engineer Peter Rushforth, 56, who was travelling in the opposite direction on his Suzuki motorbike on Kirkby Road, near Kirkby Malzeard, in September 2019.

Iqbal, of Toller Lane, Bradford, was proven to have sent messages to his girlfriend and friend on the smartphone app Snapchat while the van was moving, the last interaction with his device being around 20 seconds before the crash. He was 30cm into Mr Rushforth’s lane when the collision occurred on a bend.

York Crown Court heard during the trial of Iqbal, who denied causing death by dangerous driving but was convicted by a jury, that motorcycle enthusiast Mr Rushforth, from Ripon, was heading to a friend's house but died at the scene when his bike struck a stone wall and he was thrown into a tree, from which he then fell from height.

Iqbal was travelling at 39mph on the 60mph road at the time and was heading to the Morrisons petrol station in Ripon after delivering parcels.

The court was also told that Mr Rushforth's postmortem revealed that he had amphetamines in his system which could have impaired his riding ability, but the prosecution said there was no evidence he had not been driving correctly.

Location tracking data was used to prove that the Transit van had been in motion while the Snapchat app was activated.

Iqbal’s defence had argued that Amazon had not provided a cradle for the phone to be used hands-free, as Iqbal was also using a navigation app to find the petrol station.

At the sentencing today, statements were read out on behalf of Mr Rushforth’s partner of 14 years, Angela Potter, and sisters Helen and Janet. His sisters described the ‘sad and stressful’ time since the death of their brother, who had not made a will with consequent financial complications. He was a carer for Ms Potter, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, and though they did not live together, they planned to marry and travel the world attending motorcycle rallies and music festivals. Mr Rushforth was hoping to retire from his job at Catterick Garrison. Since his death, Ms Potter’s health has deteriorated further.

Iqbal’s defence counsel said he had completed a foundation degree in law at Bradford College since the collision, and had started a full law degree at university. He supplied character references including one from a Labour councillor for Manningham in Bradford, and had expressed his ‘remorse and devastation’. He has no previous convictions.

Jailing Iqbal for three and a half years and imposing a 45-month driving ban, Judge Simon Hickey said: “You were driving dangerously and you were not concentrating for 32 seconds. You must have been distracted by that app, and you killed an innocent man. I accept that you come from an impeccable family background and are an otherwise decent young man.”