Daughter of couple killed by lorry driver in horror A1 crash issues heartfelt mobile phone plea

A woman who lost her mam and stepdad in a crash on the A1(M) has launched a campaign to stop people from using their mobile phones at the wheel.

Elaine Sullivan, 57, and David Daglish, 59, from Seaham^[1], were killed when a lorry driver ploughed into their Vauxhall Crossland as they drove on the A1(M)^[2] near Bowburn. Paul Mullen, 51, who was driving a Toyota Hilux, also lost his life in the collision, which happened on July 15, 2021.

The lorry driver, Ion Onut, had been using the internet on his phone when he crashed his Scania truck into slow moving traffic on the northbound carriageway of the road. Forensic examinations of his mobile found that Onut, of Galashiels, in Scotland, had been repeatedly using the device’s web browser throughout his journey from Cambridgeshire right up until the time of the collision at Bowburn.

Onut was later jailed for eight years and 10 months. He was also banned from driving for 14 years following a sentencing hearing in 2022.

Now, in a bid to prevent further tragedies, Elaine’s daughter, Mariellena Johnson, has joined forces with Durham Constabulary and the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) to design a car sticker to discourage people from using their mobile phones at the wheel. The stickers, which are funded by the PCC’s office, are also supported by Durham County Council, who will be displaying them in their fleet of vehicles.

Mariellena, who is known to her friends and family as Mari, said: “There is absolutely no excuse for using your phone at the wheel, one quick glance can have devastating consequences. You see people using their phones all the time and I just want it to end.

“No family should ever have to go through what we have experienced – sorting through your own parents’ belongings, clearing their home, organising their funeral, having to move on and live life without them. It is absolutely heart-breaking.

"I really hope that people see these stickers and think twice about looking at their phone while driving. Life is precious, please don’t ruin it for the sake of a phone call, text, or quick glance of social media."

Det Con Natalie Horner, from Durham Constabulary’s^[4] collision investigation unit, worked with Mari to design the stickers. She said: "We want people to look at these stickers and realise that there are real people behind them – not just statistics, but people with families and loved ones who are missing them terribly.

"We need people to stop using their phone at the wheel. Even just a split-second look can distract you enough to cause a collision which could be fatal.

"None of us want to have to deliver another death message to a family whose loved one has died in a collision which could have been avoided. Please, put the phone away while driving."

PCC Joy Allen added: "Every time someone uses their mobile phone while driving it puts others at risk. What Mari and her family have gone through is devastating. This is why I am fully behind the use of dashcams to shine a light and prosecute those who intentionally have no regard for other road users and is why I have prioritised Safer Roads within my Police and Crime Plan.

“By working with Mari, Durham Constabulary and other partners to produce the stickers, it will get the message out far and wide that no-one should be flouting the law and instead should be fully focussed on the road and on driving safely for the benefit of all road users. No text message or Google search is worth a life."

The stickers will be available in all police station front offices in the Durham Constabulary area from Monday, August 7.

During Onut's sentencing hearing last year, it was said he had been accessing "adult dating websites" on his mobile phone shortly before the crash. The lorry driver, who was " trawling the internet on dating sites looking for casual sexual partners" at the time of the collision, was subsequently arrested and then charged with three counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

The then 41-year-old, a Romanian national who was living in the Scottish Borders, pleaded guilty to the charges at Durham Crown Court. Later in 2022, Onut spoke out from his prison cell^[5] as part of a film highlighting the dangers of using a mobile phone at the wheel, created by Durham Constabulary’s media team.

He said: “I have to live with this for the rest of my life. I never had a chance to apologise, to say sorry for what I had done to those who lost their loved ones, the people who were injured, the ones who suffer from flashbacks. By being on my phone for a long period of time and then realising the traffic ahead of me had stopped, I had absolutely zero chance to act and pull my brakes on.

“It shows you how quickly it happens, and how quickly your life changes from being normal to now being in prison, having a sentence of eight years. I have never been involved in anything with the police before, and then for using your mobile phone at the wheel you are here, away from the real world and friends and family.

"When I saw the videos of what happened it was unimaginable and hard to see. It was so disturbing knowing that was me in that lorry ploughing through the cars."

To get the latest court news from around the North East directly into your inbox, click here^[6]

References

1. ^{^} Seaham (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
2. ^{^} A1(M) (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Lorry driver was accessing 'adult dating sites' on phone before A1 horror smash which killed three people (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
4. ^{^} Durham Constabulary’s (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
5. ^{^} Onut spoke out from his prison cell (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
6. ^{^} here (data.reachplc.com)