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Conviction of driver welcomed

The families of two girls killed in a road crash have welcomed the conviction of the lorry driver responsible for the accident. He is Robert Murray, 51, of Wrockwardine Wood, Telford.

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Yesterday Murray was found guilty of causing the deaths of Rebecca Casterton, 13, and 12-year-old Lauren Brooks by dangerous driving.

The crash happened on the A38 near Burton-upon-Trent in January.

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"It's not going to bring them back, but he was messing around with a mobile just prior to the accident and that's dangerous. The practice has got to stop. Don't use your mobile phones."

Mr Casterton said he was very proud of his daughter and loved and missed her dearly.

"To know she was taken away by someone's incompetent driving is very hard to come to terms with," he said.

Dave Brooks and Irene Corie, Lauren's parents, issued a statement saying her family could not find words to express their loss.They said: "During a difficult and emotional week at Stafford Crown Court, it soon became apparent that at the time this tragic event took place, a professional driver failed to carry out his duties in an appropriate manner, as a result taking the life of our daughter and destroying our lives forever.
Dave Brooks and Irene Corie, Lauren's parents, issued a statement saying her family could not find words to express their loss.They said: "During a difficult and emotional week at Stafford Crown Court, it soon became apparent that at the time this tragic event took place, a professional driver failed to carry out his duties in an appropriate manner, as a result taking the life of our daughter and destroying our lives forever.

"While nothing can be done to bring Lauren back, we feel justice has been done with the conviction of Murray, for her loss.

"This is a tragic but all too familiar story of a driver failing to take appropriate care on the road."

Murray now faces jail after being convicted of causing the crash.

The jury had heard Murray was using a mobile without a hands-free set shortly before the crash. Rebecca and Lauren both pupils at John Taylor High School in Barton-under-Needwood, Staffordshire, were rear seat passengers in a Renault Clio which was struck by Murray's lorry.

The five-day trial heard that Irene Corie, Lauren's mother, was driving back to Burton after picking the girls up from riding school.

Murray was also heading southbound in his Volvo when it clipped the back of the Clio, sending the car spinning across the A38 southbound lane, over the central reservation and into the northbound section. The car landed on its roof then turned over on to its wheels.

Rebecca, from Barton-under-Needwood, died at the scene. Lauren, from Burton, was pronounced dead after arriving at hospital.

Prosecutors claimed Murray had been calling his wife and he was distracted having made the call or by what he did with the handset.

Murray said he had finished the conversation and had put the phone on a charger under the dashboard.

He said he had been driving at 55mph when he pulled on to the A38. He planned to pass the Clio, but pulled in and clipped the car. He said he was "devastated" at what had happened.

Sentencing was adjourned until January.