Redcar soldier jailed after Bedale grandad killed in crash

Sophie Waugh had been driving on the A6055 Leeming Lane, near Kirklington, on June 28, 2023, when she struck 71-year-old cyclist Ian Morris. The 31-year-old, who served with the Royal Logistics Corp of the British Army, hit the rear of Mr Morris' bicycle at about 2pm, while travelling in the same northbound direction. Tragically, the much-loved husband, dad, and grandad-of-four died instantly at the scene[1].

Ian Morris (Image: NORTH YORKSHIRE POLICE) Waugh, who had been driving home from work at Alanbrooke Barracks before the horror crash unfolded, was later charged with causing the death by dangerous driving. Forensic officers were able to prove that Waugh, of Rowantree Gardens, Redcar, had been using her phone prolifically up to the point of the crash.

This included the locking and unlocking of her device 10 times, 13 outgoing messages from Facebook Messenger and six outgoing messages from Snapchat. Sophie Waugh (Image: NORTH YORKSHIRE POLICE) Overall, there had been 34 incoming and outgoing messages during this time.

Significantly, the digital evidence report showed that the handset had locked at 2.24pm with the Instagram app on the screen. On Friday (February 7) Waugh was jailed for six years and eight months after pleading guilty at Teesside Crown Court. She also received a driving ban of five-and-a-half years and must undertake an extended driving test.

These come into effect only when she is released from prison.

'The pain may dim, but our lives will never be the same again.'

Mr Morris' wife, Pauline, who was married to Ian for 50 years, said his loss has been so great that "words will not do it justice". She said: "As a family we now measure things by what we will never do again or not be able to do, from a family walk or a game of golf, to those lifelong dreams or holidays, through to birthdays or university graduations or key milestone events that Ian will not be a part of." Pauline said their lives have "been on hold" since the day of the crash, and said the "catastrophic" effect of the crash will never be over.

"To me he was my everything - friend, lover, partner, and teammate. It is like I lost half of me that day. He was kind, polite, caring, full of fun, grumpy at times, but a generous man who loved to plan surprises.

Ian Morris (Image: North Yorkshire Police) "He was very proud of his sons, Tim and Jon, and was very happy that they had both married two wonderful girls Becky and Tara who had given him four wonderful grandchildren and loved them very dearly." Pauline, who was preparing to mark the couple's golden wedding anniversary, said she felt as though her future had been cancelled.

She added: "On the day of the accident, I had chosen not to go with him on the bike ride, as I would normally have done. "He followed the route we usually took; a route Ian chose because it's a straight road with good visibility. The decision not to go haunts me, if I had, would he still be with us today?

"At night in bed, I go back through that day, and I struggled to understand what had happened. "I never got to say goodbye and thank him for all the happy years we spent together. So, the impact is that I have learnt that grief is a very lonely road to walk, it is love that has no place to go.

"But in my heart of hearts, I know that Ian would want me and the family to get on with our lives, live them to the full and to be as happy as we can be. This is our goal."

'He was just ripped away from all of us'

Mr Morris' son, Jon, described it as an "ongoing nightmare that I can't wake up from". He said: "He wasn't just a man that died, he was my father and friend, who loved his life and whose loss has had a huge impact on so many people.

"It is of course not only our loss and heartbreak that we now have to manage but also that of our children, dad's grandchildren. "How do I console my eight-year-old son when he is crying in bed at night with the worry that he will lose his memories of his grandad, knowing that this probably is going to happen. How do you explain why he only got such a short time with him?"

Jon said that, whatever the sentence, it will "pale into insignificance in comparison to the sentence we are living through every day." His other son Tim said he feels the loss of his father everyday. He said: "My wife had to confirm the news to me, when I was five hours from home, and nowhere near my loved ones.

I knew I needed to get home. "Whilst the journey was hard, nothing was real until I stepped in through my parents' front door and looked in my mum's eyes. "At that point my world came crumbling down, as the reality of it all hit."

He continued: "Life is now always revolving around what life was like when granddad was here. "I have to say the whole process since that day has been the most traumatic of my life, each time the police contact us to give us more information about how things were progressing to the day that we had to first attend court ties my stomach in knots and brings all of the emotions and memories back from that day. "I feel cheated for my mum the most of all, they have both worked for local government all of their lives, my dad had just completed 50 years of service at North Yorkshire County Council and was just beginning his retirement, he was in the shape of his life and had so many dreams and plans.

"They had so many plans to spend their retirements together and now he doesn't get his retirement and my mum doesn't get the retirement she had planned. "All of their hard work and dreams ended through a reckless act, through no fault of their own. "Finally, what hurts the most is that I never got to say goodbye to my dad, my best friend, he was just ripped away from all of us."

Detective Constable Laura Cleary, from the Major Collision Investigation Team, said: "Waugh claimed during police interview that she had not seen Mr Morris on his bicycle and even suggested that he must have swerved out in front of her car. "Witnesses to the collision challenged her version of events, stating that Mr Morris was riding normally and wearing a long-sleeved fluorescent green cycling jersey and had a flashing red light on the rear of his bicycle at the time of the collision. "They said it was Waugh's car that had veered towards Mr Morris.

"Thankfully, Waugh has now admitted causing death by dangerous driving and accepts that she was driving while using a mobile phone. "This is one of the 'Fatal 5' factors in such collisions, the others being careless driving, drink and drug driving, not wearing a seatbelt and speeding. "The horrific consequences of being distracted by mobile phones are plain to see in this case.

"This is a stark wake-up call for anyone who is tempted to use their phones while in control of a vehicle.

"Our thoughts remain with Mr Morris' family who have been left devastated by this wholly avoidable tragedy."

References

1. ^ died instantly at the scene (www.thenorthernecho.co.uk)