Partner of woman killed in awful A303 crash issues plea
In an emotional statement, Aaron Law is imploring people to not use mobile devices while driving.
Aaron’s partner Alex Britton was killed in a catastrophic incident on the A303[1] near Andover in August 2021.
The mum-of-two was driving on the westbound carriageway when her car broke down.
Tina Ince, 58, and Tom Watson, 30, stopped to help her but all three were tragically killed.
Tina Ince, Tom Watson, Alex Britton were killed in a crash on the A303 near Andover (Image: Hampshire Police)
Lorry driver Michal Kopaniarz was watching videos and typing a destination into his phone, causing him to crash into the three vehicles.
Over two years on since the incident, Aaron said: “One of the most devastating things I’ve ever done is break the news to my, at the time, three-year-old daughter that her mummy wasn’t coming back home.
“Being only three we thought she would find it hard to understand, but instantly she grasped what was going on and she broke down in tears.
“I never planned to raise two children by myself. We planned to do it as a family. I now struggle every day with simple tasks.
“There are just certain things that I can’t teach them, that mummy would have taught them.”
Alex with her two children (Image: Hampshire Police)
Alex’s mother Avril Swain described Kopaniarz’s actions as ‘unbelievable’.
She said: “Since the day of this incident, our lives have changed forever. There’s no turning back from it. It was catastrophic.
“If anybody is thinking about even peeking at their phone whilst driving, just don’t. Whatever it is, it can wait until the end of your journey or, if it is some emergency, pull over.
“Please don’t drive whilst being on your phone.”
In February of last year, Kopaniarz was jailed for 12 years[2] and disqualified from driving for 10 years, with an extra six years added to take into consideration his time in custody.
He must take an extended re-test before he is allowed his licence back.
Detective Constable Mark Furse said: “Using your mobile phone is a huge distraction when driving but sadly we still see people doing this every day.
“Nothing is so important that it justifies using your phone while driving and there’s just no excuse for it.
“If you choose to use your mobile phone when you’re driving and it goes wrong, you will get caught and you will go to prison.”
References
- ^ catastrophic incident on the A303 (www.dailyecho.co.uk)
- ^ was jailed for 12 years (www.dailyecho.co.uk)