Crash Brought On By Phone Gambler Led To Premature Birth

26 February 2026
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George TorrEast Midlands


A male who was betting on his phone when he crashed into an automobile, triggering a pregnant woman to deliver prematurely, has actually been jailed.


Jack Bentley hit a stationary Nissan X-Trail queuing in traffic on the A50 in Hatton, Derbyshire, on 6 April.


Police stated the driver of the Nissan suffered whiplash and the pregnant guest was rushed into hospital with a fractured pelvis. Two other children in the same cars and truck suffered injuries while the family's family pet canine was seriously hurt and had to undergo emergency surgery.


Bentley, 30, admitted 2 counts of triggering serious injury by unsafe driving and was jailed for 28 months at Derby Crown Court and prohibited from driving for 38 months.


After the crash the pregnant female had to go through an emergency Caesarean area, leaving her early infant in intensive take care of a number of weeks, when she two collapsed lungs.


The infant later on made a healing and had the ability to go home.


Derbyshire Police stated Bentley, of Meadow Way, Derby, had been travelling home from Blackpool when the collision happened at 18:45 BST.


A motorist in the left-hand lane caught the video on her dashcam, which was utilized as evidence.


Bentley, driving in the right-hand lane, did not see the stationary traffic and crashed without altering his speed, cops stated.


He was seen earlier veering into the turf brink of the eastbound carriageway in between junctions 6 and 5, along with swerving between lanes.


Bentley was apprehended at the scene. Analysis of his phone information following the crash showed he had actually been utilizing his phone while driving, visiting online betting sites, the force stated.


'Missed early moments'


In a victim effect statement, the mom said: "I needed an emergency situation Caesarean due to my baby remaining in distress. I found this extremely distressing and didn't want my infant 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 child you anticipate to be in a bubble with your partner and newborn baby but we were separated across 3 wards in the health center and lost out on so much in those early moments.


"No mother or father ought to need to go through this.


"The next three weeks we invested in medical facility getting our infant strong enough to come home."


Following sentencing on 11 February, PC Richard Morris, from Derbyshire Police, said: "This was a dreadful display of driving by Bentley, who invested most of his journey distracted by being on his phone.


"I know that the physical, mental and psychological injury from this event continues to impact on this family, who were just going out their day when this entirely avoidable crash happened."


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