Van driver who killed biker while on Snapchat jailed

Daniaal Iqbal from Bradford was on his phone when his van crashed into motorcyclist Peter Rushforth

Author: Liam ArrowsmithPublished 14th Dec 2022

A van driver from Bradford has been jailed for more than three years, after killing a motorcyclist while on Snapchat.

Daniaal Iqbal was using his phone when he hit Peter Rushforth, who was riding his bike along Kirkby Road in Ripon in 2019.

The 23-year-old was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and forensic investigators found he was using his phones camera just seconds prior to the crash.

Mr. Rushforth was killed instantly.

Speaking about the sentence handed to Iqbal, Detective Sergeant Kirsten Aldridge of the Major Collision Investigation Team said: “From the seconds after the collision which killed Mr Rushforth, Iqbal denied any responsibility for the collision – categorically stating he was not using his phone.

"However, our experienced Digital Forensic Investigators found unquestionable evidence to challenge Daniaal Iqbal’s claims.

“This is yet another fatal collision caused by a driver who refused to listen to the warnings about the risk of using a mobile while driving and chose to blatantly disregard the law."

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