Driver 'texting on Snapchat' jailed for causing Mum's death by dangerous driving

Driver 'texting on Snapchat' jailed for causing Mum's death by dangerous driving Jenny Dunlop was driving her Volkswagen Polo on the M2 southbound in County Antrim when Jonathan McNeill ran into her with his Audi S3 A man has been jailed for five years after causing the death of a mother-of-four while using his mobile phone during a high-speed crash in Northern Ireland. Jenny Dunlop, 59, was driving her Volkswagen Polo on the M2 southbound near the Sandyknowes road junction in Newtownabbey in County Antrim when Jonathan McNeill ploughed his Audi S3 into the rear of her car at 70mph. The mother's Polo was shunted into the read of a Honda Civic, which then struck an articulated lorry. A total of four vehicles were involved in the incident and a number of people rushed to give Ms Dunlop CPR before the arrival of paramedics. The mother was taken to hospital but died from her injuries two days after the incident took place on March 5, 2023, at around 9.20pm. Traffic was at a standstill at the time of the crash due to roadworks between junction four at Sandyknowes and junction two at Greencastle. Although it had rained earlier that evening, it was not raining at the time of the collision and the road conditions were good, BelfastLive reports. Belfast Crown Court heard today that McNeill had been using his mobile phone for around 15 minutes to message people on Snapchat and Facebook Messenger in the lead up to the collision. An examination of his phone showed he deleted the two apps from his phone before emergency services arrived at the scene. He also deleted dating apps Tinder and Badoo while he was in hospital later that evening to receive treatment for his injuries, which included a fractured clavicle and injuries to his hand and neck. He also had to be cut out of his car. McNeill, 40 and of Hollowburn Road in Ballycraigy, had pleaded guilty to a single charge of causing death by dangerous driving and has today been handed a five-year prison sentence. Judge Patrick Lynch KC told McNeill he will spend half the sentence in custody, with the remainder on supervised licence. Defence counsel, Ian Turkington KC, said: "It is right to say he was a vulnerable individual in the build-up to the accident. He had a number of mental health issues prior to the accident, and there has been a deterioration in his mental health after the incident for which he has received counselling.. "He presents himself as someone who is desperate and anxious to change and was prepared to take steps on his own to do so.'' Mr Turkington said McNeill had told the author of a pre-sentence report that he had "no appetite to drive or get behind the wheel of a car ever again''. He added: "I acknowledge the fact that there is nothing that I can say to Your Honour on behalf of the accused that will be as important as recognising the fairly immense pain and anguish that has been suffered by the family and friends of the deceased. "Jonathan McNeill, for what it is worth, is completely sorry for his role in relation to the collision. And he fully accepts causing the death of Jenny Dunlop." Passing sentence, Judge Lynch said the deletion by McNeill of apps on his phone was an attempt to "avoid detection and mitigate his own responsibility for his actions, which I regard as an aggravating feature in this case''. He said he believed the case was one of either high culpability or more serious culpability given the nature of McNeill's driving that evening.