Man jailed after woman killed by drilling rig load

A 35-year-old man has been jailed for five years after a drilling rig fell off a trailer he was towing and landed on a woman's car, killing her.

Liam Smith of Roselidden Parc, Helston admitted causing the death of 34-year-old Jessica Allman from Newquay by dangerous driving on the B3297 at Burras in July 2022.

Truro Crown Court on Wednesday heard four straps should have been used - Smith had working straps on the trailer and in his vehicle but had failed to use them.

Judge James Adkin said Smith had manifestly failed to tether the correct number of straps safely and sentenced him to five years and four months in prison and banned him from driving for 84 months.

Judge Adkin said the victim had been blameless in the incident.

The court heard Smith had failed to secure the drilling rig using a broken ratchet strap but by the end of the trip there had been nothing securing the load in place.

Det Con Helen Lentern from Devon and Cornwall Police's serious collisions investigation team said: "If an adequate number of lashings had been used in conjunction with blocking, then the failure of a single strap should not have resulted in load movement."

She said the collision had been "entirely preventable" and Ms Allman had been "a blameless member of the public".

"Jessica had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time as she went about her working day.

"Nothing will ever bring Jessica back but we hope her family are now able to feel some closure following the conclusion of the case," she added.

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].