Lorry driver Slawomir Kotlowski was on mobile phone when building blocks fell off his vehicle onto a woman in Lyndhurst, Southampton Crown Court hears

A LORRY driver was on a phone call which lasted for nearly 34 minutes when a pallet of blocks fell from his vehicle onto a woman, a court has heard.

Analysis of Slawomir Kotlowski’s work mobile after the accident showed he had also switched between six other calls during the conversation with a workmate which started at 11.35am.

That call, the jury at Southampton Crown Court heard, ended at nearly 12.09pm when he stopped his lorry after the building material fell on pedestrian Chloe Evans (23) from Totton as she walked past the site of the old Lyndhurst Hotel.

The work mobile was being operated on a hands-free kit, and Kotlowski was also using a Bluetooth ear piece, the jury was told.

They had earlier heard from van driver Robert Dilworth who described how he had desperately tried to alert Kotlowski that his load had become unstable and was in danger of falling.

He said he had followed the lorry from the Happy Cheese pub on the A35 into Lyndhurst, all the time sounding his horn and flashing his lights. But Kotlowksi did not stop.

Giving evidence, Sgt Jonathan Peace said that in a police interview following the accident, Kotlowski insisted he had checked his load before setting off from Purfleet Docks and had tightened two straps.

He had also rechecked his load again at Winchester services saying he had “glanced” at it and seen nothing wrong.

He said that as he entered Lyndhurst he had looked in his rearview mirror and had seen that blocks were falling off his lorry.

Kotlowski said he stopped his lorry and saw “that female under the blocks” adding “I thought they (the blocks) had missed her.”

The lorry driver said he was “shaking” and that two “old” people had come up to him and said: “It’s an accident, it’s not your fault.”

Kotlowski said he had not seen in his mirror that straps had become loose but after he stopped he realised the ones securing a rear pallet of blocks had become “weirdly” caught on a hook at the back of the lorry.

He also said he had not felt the load shifting and had seen Mr Dilworth’s van only after the accident.

Asked if he had seen the vehicle flashing his lights or sounding its horn, he replied: “I didn’t see him in the mirrors.”

He said he had not been distracted by anything but revealed he had been on a phone call with a friend when the accident happened.

Kotlowski said he was “focused” on driving despite the call which was incoming. He said he had “pressed his earpiece” to take it.

In a subsequent police interview Kotlowski (41) of Collenswood Road, Stevenage, produced a prepared statement.

In it he claimed that “at no point” had he seen Mr Dilworth’s van during his journey along the A35 into Lyndhurst despite checking his mirrors several times.

He said he had also not heard a horn, or seen any flashing lights from it.

Kotlowski said the use of his mobile phone had not “distracted” him in any way and he had remained “fully engaged and attentive in my driving”.

Cross-examined by defence barrister Ian Bridge, Sgt Peace revealed that investigation by building materials manufacturer Xella, whose load Kotlowski was transporting, had revealed that an ‘up and over’ strap which helped secure the rear pallet was missing.

The mistake had been made by a Dutch driver in Holland, the officer told the court.

Sgt Peace also agreed with Mr Bridge that the investigation had also shown that the pallets were “prone to deform due to weight and pressure of the straps”. But the court heard no action was taken against the driver or the company as it was not in British police jurisdiction.

Kotlowski has pleaded not guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving.

The trial continues.

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