A WHITE van driver from Barrow who killed a pensioner in a head-on collision was streaming music on his phone at the time of the collision, a court has heard.

Richard Cupid, 31, admits causing the death of John Bromley, 81, by careless driving but denies he was driving dangerously when his van collided with Mr Bromley’s Ford Fiesta on the A5087 near Ulverston.

His passenger, Heather Gillespie, who was seriously injured in the smash, told police Cupid, of Newbarns Road, Barrow-in-Furness, was selecting music to play through the van’s speakers when he veered into the path of Mr Bromley’s car at around noon on May 17, 2015.

But Cupid insists his phone was in his pocket and he was simply winding down the driver’s window when he veered into Mr Bromley’s path.

Opening the trial at Preston Crown Court, Richard Howarth, prosecuting, said: “The defendant says he wasn’t touching, using, or handling his phone - that it stayed in his pocket.

“She (Miss Gillespie) says he was.

“One of them is lying.”

At around noon, Mr Bromley, from Barrow, was travelling towards Roose on the A5087, to visit his partner for Sunday lunch.

Cupid was travelling in the opposite direction with Miss Gillespie in the passenger seat and his dog Milo, a Cockapoo, sitting between them.

Cupid and Miss Gillespie were on their way to have lunch at The Priory, near Ulverston, and Miss Gillespie was on her phone asking friends if they would like to meet up.

As Mr Bromley rounded a bend, on his own side of the single carriageway, he was met with Mr Cupid’s Ford Transit van, travelling on the wrong side of the road.

The vehicles hit head on and Mr Bromley’s Fiesta was pushed 10 metres back in the road.


John Bromley Mr Bromley suffered multiple injuries and died at the scene.

Cupid suffered injuries to his ankle, and Miss Gillespie suffered broken ribs, a torn lung, and a fractured sternum. She spent seven days in hospital.

When emergency services arrived at the scene, Cupid was heard to say he would go to prison for his driving, the court heard.

Miss Gillespie, a glassmaker, told police Cupid had his phone in his left hand and was using it to select and play music. They were listening to a song by James Bay at the time of the crash.

Mr Howarth said: “The crown says she recalls this in some graphic detail. She knew they were drifting to the wrong side of the road and she knew she could see he was selecting music.

“She tried to warn him, screaming.

“The defendant acknowledges there was a scream, but to no avail.

“Despite braking, the defendant was unable to avoid the oncoming path of Mr Bromley.

“That is how she says the accident came to be and that is how how Richard Cupid came to be on the wrong side of the road.

“She was in hospital from the accident until the day she was discharged on May 24.

“Very shortly, with a matter of days, while she was still in hospital, she spoke to the defendant and she reminded him he had been using his phone in the way she recalls.

“In that conversation the defendant mentioned or recalled that his phone had been in his pocket.

“She says that his phone was never in his pocket when he was in the van. It was always on the dashboard or in his hand.

“He also told Miss Gillespie during that conversation that Mr Bromley had been on his side of the road.

“The conversation didn’t really progress any further since the defendant was setting out his stall.”

Cupid's passenger Heather Gillespie, a glassmaker from Barrow, said: "I do remember music being played. I then put my phone back into my bag. My bag was strapped around my chest where the seatbelt was.

"I put my phone into my bag. "Then we were still travelling along and I must have looked down and I looked up and I could see that we were almost drifting over to the other side of the road.

"At first I didn't really think much of it because sometimes you do go over onto the other side of the road but then it was becoming more apparent that I could see a car coming towards us and I then screamed, because I could see us drifting more over to the other side of the road and then the collision happened.

"It was all in slow motion and part of me really wanted to pull that steering wheel but it was too late.

"I can remember Richard's face, 'why are you screaming?' because obviously he didn't know what was happening.

"He obviously wasn't looking on the road. He was on his phone looking for music or changing track. I don't know what he was doing."

Cupid denies causing Mr Bromley’s death by dangerous driving and causing Miss Gillespie serious injury by dangerous driving.