Lorry driver killed couple driving to the airport for Cuba holiday while sending a TEXT to a girlfriend.

Ethan Roberts, 44, deleted the message before police arrived at the crash scene in an attempt to avoid getting caught, a court heard.A lorry driver has been jailed after his HGV toppled onto a car killing a married couple while he texted a girlfriend.

Hair salon boss Mark McHale, 46, and his wife Tamsie, 43, a primary school deputy head, were crushed to death on the motorway as they drove to Manchester Airport for a holiday to Cuba.
Roberts, of Immingham, Lincolnshire, was texting as he drove on a 50mph roadwork section of the M62 near Leeds, West Yorks.
He had received 58 messages from girlfriend Helen Chapman in three days before the crash - all while he was driving, Leeds Crown Court heard.
Roberts was jailed for five yeas and three months after admitting causing two deaths by dangerous driving.
Sentencing, Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said: 'Those who drive HGVs owe a particular responsibility to other road users because of the nature of the vehicle they drive and because the results of dangerous driving can be catastrophic.

'Evidence clearly shows you had a regular habit of reading and composing and sending text messages while driving.
'If ever a case demonstrated the obvious danger of that this is it and the danger in doing that was obvious and it created a grossly avoidable distraction.


Victims: Mark and Tamsie McHale were crushed to death in the motorway crashed as they drove to the airport for a holiday to Cuba
Tragic: Roberts' 19-tonne HGV toppled into the car and crushed Mr and Mrs McHale on the M62

'You received a text message very shortly before the collision and you were either reading it or composing a reply when you lost control of your lorry.'
Prosecutor Richard Clews told Leeds Crown Court that Roberts’ 19 tonne articulated lorry began to veer into the inside lane as he was distracted by his mobile phone messages, on July 25, last year.

Mr Mchale owned Hair Haus, in Bishop Auckland, Co Durham, and his wife was deputy head at Gilesgate Primary School, Durham.It pushed Mr McHale’s Audi into the third lane, facing the wrong way, and the lorry jack-knifed, its fully loaded trailer unit toppled onto the car, crushing and killing McHale and his wife Tamsie.
Judge Marson said the hard-working couple were 'on their way no doubt to a well-earned holiday'.
Roberts tried to blame Mr McHale for the crash and examination of his phone showed no messages at the time concerned - but checks revealed a text had been deleted.