Video as driver filmed himself at 123mph before killing pregnant mum
A “selfish” driver who killed a pregnant Hollyoaks actress while filming a video on his phone at speeds of 123mph has been jailed for 12 years. Adil Iqbal, 22, had pleaded guilty to causing the death of Frankie Julia Hough, 38, who suffered fatal injuries when he struck her in his BMW on the M66 in Gtr Manchester.
The mum, who was 17 weeks pregnant with her baby girl Neeve, was travelling in her car with sons Thomas, nine, and Rocky, two, and nephew Tobias, 4, on May 13. But Iqbal lost control of his car while going more than 50mph above the 70mph limit and slammed into Frankie’s vehicle after she'd stopped due to a punctured tyre.
Thomas’s dad revealed how Frankie had called him a second before the crash and let out a “blood-curdling scream” as she was hit while sitting in her Skoda Fabia. The mum suffered brain injuries and passed away in hospital two days later, and tragically, Neeve’s heart was still beating when doctors turned her life support off.
Thomas and Tobias were rushed to hospital by air ambulance and suffered long-lasting skull and spinal injuries, but luckily Rocky was left relatively unhurt. Iqbal was arrested at the scene before later pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and two offences of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Sentencing him at Manchester Minshull Court, judge Maurice Greene said the trauma that Iqbal caused on May 13 to Frankie’s family was indescribable. He said: “Ms Julia Hough did not return from the journey.
"She was killed as a result of the most indescribably reckless driving by you, Adil Iqbal, leading to the devastation of a family. And furthermore, as a result of your driving, Tommy and Tobias were very seriously injured. The manner of your driving was clear for all to see.”
Frankie’s dad, Frank Hough, broke down several times while giving a moving statement about the loss of his daughter. He said: “Frankie Julia Hough was my daughter, my hero, the kind of human being you can only wish to be.
"But the kind of human being that we should aspire to be. She was warm, caring, humble, involved and dignified. My oldest daughter [was] born into this world by an emergency caesarean…From that day on Frankie became my priority, my reason – my reason behind every decision I made. My reason for being.
Adil Iqbal
“She has now been needlessly and thoughtlessly ripped away from me. I have no idea how my life will be without Frankie. I should have been able to protect my little girl. I now know what it means to have your heart broken. It hurts more deeply than I could have ever imagined.
“I have lost one of the most precious things in my life.”
Frankie’s devastated partner and soon-to-be husband Calvin Buckley said they had held a gender reveal party for their daughter, Neeve, just a week prior crash. He said: “Frankie was pregnant and expecting our first daughter. We had only just decided on a name the night before and we chose Neeve.
“The week before the tragedy, we’d done a gender reveal and found I was going to be blessed by a girl, our daughter. It was the happiest moment of our lives.
“Thirty minutes before [the crash], I said my goodbyes and gave her a kiss and told her I loved her, my Queen, like always. The impact of this collision shattered my world to pieces and dismantled all my future plans and flipped my world upside down.
“The most precious parts of me are no longer here. My partner and my daughter can no longer live the life they deserve… My life felt like a horror film.”
Robert Hall prosecuting said Iqbal - previously banned for driving without insurance -had been seen “swerving” in and out of traffic as he approached the M66 on May 13. One motorist, Jonathan Hoyle, who saw the fitness instructor's vehicle, described his driving as “an accident waiting to happen” minutes before the crash.
Iqbal went on to his 116mph, as he recorded his trip with his phone in his left hand and held the steering wheel in his right. And at one point, a motorist who he came up behind let out a scream as he accelerated to within “inches” of her back bumper
Mr Hall said: “30 seconds before the collision, the defendant was videoing his own driving again. He held the steering wheel in his right hand while holding the phone in his left hand.
“The dashboard on the BMW showed speeds of 107mph up to 123mph. In terms of his highest speeds, they were seen five seconds before the collision. At the same time, Frankie Julia Hough had pulled her Skoda Fabia onto the hard shoulder and had parked.
Frankie Jules-Hough, 38, was killed in a horror crash on the M66. Her son Tommy, nine, and her nephew Tobias Spencer, four, were also seriously injured in a road traffic accident on the M66 on May 13. (Image: Family Handout/GoFundMe/PA Wire)
"The evidence suggests that she had a puncture on her offside rear tyre.”
Mr Hall said that Iqbal had entered a filter lane in order to undertake two cars, and was travelling around 116mph just before the crash. He collided with another vehicle and lost control of his vehicle, which span 180 degrees before hitting Frankie’s with its rear side.
A victim impact statement by Tommy Spencer, Thomas’s dad, revealed she had just picked up the phone to him when the crash took place to say she would be late. He said: “‘Hi Tom’ was all I heard her say before she let out a blood-curdling scream for what felt like an eternity.
"I heard a man saying, ‘I don’t think you’re supposed to move the bodies.' My heart sank."
Relatives who found out about the crash rushed to the scene of the motorway where they told the court they had spotted Frankie’s, bruised lifeless body. And 36 hours later, her dad Frank said he was by her bedside when she finally passed away from the severe head injuries.
Iqbal was able to climb out of his car from a window, and when police[1] spoke to him at the scene, they said he hadn’t taken responsibility for the accident straight away. He was later charged with causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing injury by dangerous driving.
Iqbal offered no comment in interviews and refused to give police his phone pin number, which later revealed the videos he’d taken just seconds before the crash. But his defence counsel Balbir Singh said he was remorseful for his actions and was highly regarded by the community as a boxing and personal fitness trainer.
He said: “He does experience clear regret and deep remorse for his driving. It is something he must live with for the rest of his life.”
Iqbal was disqualified from driving for 14 years. He is also required to take an extended retest when he becomes eligible to drive again. Frankie played Jess Holt in Hollyoaks in early 2000 when she was a teenager, and she went on to become good friends with her co-star Paul Danan.
Paying tribute to her on Twitter, the actor who played Sol Patrick in the much-loved drama, described her as a “special person”. He wrote: “Another good, good friend who was such a special person has sadly passed away while carrying her unborn baby and her 2 little boys and nephew who were in the car too.
“They had a terrible car accident. She was driving on the M6 when a car must have crashed into them dangerously the driver has been charged. "This wonderful actress played the character "Jess" alongside me 4 years in @Hollyoaks.
“I adored her. I feel so lost right now. #RIPFranki."