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After “swaying left and right” at a speed of up to 75 mph on the M62, her Ford Fiesta crashed into the central reserve, flipping “at least twice” in the air, and coming to a stop, forcing the cars behind to apply their brakes.
Even though Bellerby—a former professional rugby player for the Sale Sharks—and those right behind him were able to stop in time and pull over to safety, the chain reaction caused a terrible pile-up farther back. Stuart Murphy, a 39-year-old Huddersfield truck driver, tragically passed away at the scene, while a 37-year-old man suffered critical injuries.
At the time, Stuart’s grieving friends and relatives spoke to him as “such a good person.” He was operating one of the four HGVs in the terrifying collision that also injured four other individuals. Bellerby, who used to play for the Sale Sharks, broke down in tears in the dock as the crash’s facts were given to the Bradford Crown Court.
Prosecutor Alisha Kaye told the court: “She left work just after lunch and drove from the prison along A roads, to a McDonalds drive-in, onto the M60 and the M62 eastbound, heading in the direction of Huddersfield. Witnesses saw her travelling at speeds of up to 75mph, swerving in the middle lane left and right, out of control before drifting into lane three, very close to the central reservation.”
Details of the sheer volume of incoming calls, messages and social media messages she was receiving and accepting and making phone calls were read to the court. Her WhatsApp was not operated through Siri and she could not use her phone through the steering wheel, meaning she had to manually make the call.
When she crawled out of the wreckage of her car, she was clutching her mobile phone.
Bellerby was taken to Leeds General Infirmary and then later interviewed by West Yorkshire Police. In her first interview, she told officers she’d “had a right day” at work. She has since quit her job because she could not cope with the demands of it.
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