Crash Brought On By Phone Gambler Led To Premature Birth

26 February 2026
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George TorrEast Midlands


A guy who was betting on his phone when he crashed into a vehicle, triggering a pregnant woman to offer birth prematurely, has actually been jailed.


Jack Bentley hit a fixed Nissan X-Trail queuing in traffic on the A50 in Hatton, Derbyshire, on 6 April.


Police said the driver of the Nissan suffered whiplash and the pregnant passenger was rushed into healthcare facility with a pelvis. Two other children in the same vehicle suffered injuries while the household's animal canine was seriously hurt and needed to undergo emergency situation surgical treatment.


Bentley, 30, confessed two counts of triggering major injury by hazardous driving and was jailed for 28 months at Derby Crown Court and prohibited from driving for 38 months.


After the crash the pregnant lady had to go through an emergency situation Caesarean area, leaving her premature baby in intensive look after a number of weeks, when she suffered two collapsed lungs.


The child later made a healing and had the ability to go home.


Derbyshire Police said Bentley, of Meadow Way, Derby, had actually been travelling home from Blackpool when the accident took place at 18:45 BST.


A motorist in the left-hand lane caught the footage on her dashcam, which was utilized as proof.


Bentley, driving in the right-hand lane, did not see the stationary traffic and crashed without changing his speed, cops said.


He was seen earlier drifting into the lawn verge of the eastbound carriageway in between junctions 6 and 5, as well as swerving in between lanes.


Bentley was arrested at the scene. Analysis of his phone information following the crash showed he had actually been using his phone while driving, going to online betting websites, the force said.


'Missed early moments'


In a victim effect statement, the mother said: "I needed an emergency situation Caesarean due to my child being in distress. I discovered this very traumatic and didn't desire my child to be born like that and that early.


"My baby was born without skin-to-skin contact and me and my partner needed to wait to see her.


"When you have an infant you anticipate to be in a bubble with your partner and newborn but we were separated across three wards in the medical facility and missed out on out on so much in those early moments.


"No mom or dad need to have to go through this.


"The next 3 weeks we spent in healthcare facility getting our baby strong enough to come home."


Following sentencing on 11 February, PC Richard Morris, from Derbyshire Police, said: "This was a dreadful display screen of driving by Bentley, who invested most of his journey sidetracked by being on his phone.


"I know that the physical, mental and emotional trauma from this occurrence continues to effect on this household, who were simply heading out their day when this completely preventable collision happened."


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