Driver’s selfie shows wink moments before she killed motorcyclist in crash
Amber Potter was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after admitting to causing the death of 64-year-old David Sinar.
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A young driver’s winking selfie, that she had zoomed in on on her phone moments before she crashed into and killed a motorcyclist, has been released by police.
Amber Potter, 23, was sentenced at Norwich Crown Court to three and a half years in prison after admitting to causing the death of 64-year-old David Sinar by dangerous driving, Norfolk Police said.
The force has now released the selfie that Potter, of Livingstone Road, Norwich, had zoomed in on her phone moments before she drove into the back of Mr Sinar on the A11.
Police said she “ploughed into the back of a motorcyclist… moments after she zoomed in on a selfie on her mobile phone”.
The selfie shows her behind the wheel, winking and with her tongue out.
Norfolk Police said Potter had been driving a Vauxhall Corsa to Norwich from Glastonbury when she went into a Lambretta scooter ridden by Mr Sinar at around 9.25pm on September 15, 2021.
Mr Sinar had been driving the motorcycle home, having bought it in Bournemouth earlier that day.
His wife Joanne said, in a statement read out in court, that losing him had made life “unbearable”, robbed his teenage son of his dad, and left his 97-year-old mother heartbroken.
Police said that forensic analysis of Potter’s mobile phone showed multiple interactions during her journey.
These included taking selfies, chatting on Facebook Messenger and sending texts and audio clips.
Because the device was set to “do not disturb”, it was said the user “went out of their way” to use it, the force said.
The last known interaction with her phone began less than 85 seconds prior to her calling 999 in the aftermath of the collision.
The forensic expert concluded that the collision occurred solely as a consequence of the driver of the Vauxhall failing to identify a hazard, in this case the Lambretta, in a timely manner.
Potter denied touching her phone at the time of the collision but was unable to explain how she failed to see the scooter before it was too late.
She was jailed on Wednesday for three and a half years and banned from driving for three years and nine months, police said.
Staff supervisor Andrew Hughes of the Norfolk and Suffolk Serious Collision Investigation Unit said afterwards: “This tragic case highlights the devastating effects drivers who interact with their mobile devices whilst driving have on others.
“It is the reason it features in the ‘fatal four’ offences and continues to be a focus for police.
“It is a selfish and needless act which has severe consequences for so many people.”