Dad hit in horror Midlands smash after being given cancer all clear

A crash in England’s Midlands left a former Rolls-Royce engineer seriously injured after a van driver hit his nearly stationary car at more than 80 mph, despite the engineer receiving a cancer “all clear” just 24 hours earlier. The case was heard at Derby Crown Court: Aaron Roberts, 38, had been sending selfies and WhatsApp messages to a group called “Lads, lads, lads” moments before his Ford Transit collided with Roger Bowler’s Nissan Micra, before being spun into other vehicles and the central reservation. Bowler, 73, suffered multiple injuries including several broken ribs. His cancer later returned and he died seven months after the collision, with his daughter reading a victim impact statement stating the crash “absolutely destroyed me.” Roberts was jailed for two years, while the judge disqualified him from driving for two years and 10 months, citing speeds up to 89 mph and phone use immediately before impact. The prosecutor said the collision took place on the A38 north of Derby on July 1 last year, and evidence showed Roberts was traveling faster than limits after joining a dual carriageway.