Rookie Amazon driver 'texting and Snapchatting at the wheel' guilty of causing death of motorcyclist in Ripon

Daniaal Iqbal, 22, was running out of fuel and texting on Snapchat when he knocked over and killed Peter Rushworth in a horror crash near Ripon in September 2019, a jury at York Crown Court was told.

Iqbal, who was on only the second day of his new Amazon delivery job, was also allegedly using a navigational app on his mobile phone when the collision occurred.

He was driving around a sweeping bend on Kirkby Road when he collided with Mr Rushworth’s Kawasaki Ninja travelling in the opposite direction, said prosecutor Katherine Robinson.

Mr Rushworth, who was believed to be in his late 50s, was on the correct side of the road as he came around the bend, but Iqbal’s white Transit van was on the wrong side. The side of the van struck Mr Rushworth’s helmet, part of which broke off, added Ms Robinson.

Mr Rushworth and his motorbike then slid along the road towards the grass verge, crashing into a stone wall. He then collided with some tree branches before falling to the ground. Other motorists went to his aid, but he suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Ms Robinson said that about 15 minutes before the collision on September 21, Iqbal exchanged five text messages with an Amazon colleague about needing to refuel and arranging to meet up at the Morrison’s petrol station in Ripon because he didn’t have a company fuel card. He then made a delivery in Ripon and was travelling on Kirkby Lane, towards the town, when the crash occurred at about 6.30pm.

Mr Rushforth and his bike were “thrown from the road into nearby vegetation and a small wall”.

Police were called out and Iqbal, who was described as looking “completely shocked”, remained at the scene.

Phone records showed that minutes before the collision, he had carried out a search on the Apple Maps navigation app to get directions to the fuel station.

At 6.30pm, around the time of the crash, records showed that the camera and Snapchat apps on Iqbal’s phone had been activated as he approached the collision site.

A forensic officer said his investigation suggested that Iqbal had sent a Snapchat message to a friend at about the time the delivery van came round the bend into the path of Mr Rushforth’s motorbike.

“The conclusion is that (Iqbal) hadn’t seen the motorbike until after the collision because, we say, he was using his mobile phone,” said Ms Robinson.

The collision expert said Iqbal could have been looking at the Apple Maps navigation aid or pressing the activate button on Snapchat around the time of the collision.

Iqbal, of Toller Lane, Bradford, claimed he hadn’t been using his phone and was on the correct side of the road at the time of the crash. He didn’t dispute that he caused the death of Mr Rushforth but denied that he was driving dangerously.

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Graham Atkinson, a friend of Mr Rushworth’s and a fellow motorbike enthusiast, said he received a text from his mate on the day of the crash saying that he was coming to see him and was “setting off in five minutes”.

Mr Atkinson had offered his friend a motorbike and Mr Rushworth was on his way to look at the bike when the fatal crash occurred.

He said Mr Rushworth never showed up and when he tried to call him later that evening, his phone went to voicemail.

He said they had known each other since the mid-1960s when Mr Rushworth’s parents ran a post office in Ripon.

He said Mr Rushworth was a “quiet chap” who had a garage in North Street where he kept his motorbikes.

The jury found Iqbal guilty as charged following a week-long trial. Judge Simon Hickey adjourned sentence to October 14.