A DRIVER whose failure to properly secure a drilling rig onto a trailer resulted in the death of a 34-year-old woman has been jailed for five years and four months.

Liam Smith, 35, from Roselidden Park in Helston, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence today (Wednesday, December 10) after previously pleading guilty to causing the death of Jessica Allman by dangerous driving.

Smith was also disqualified from driving and must take an extended re-test to regain his licence.

The court heard that on July 19 2022, Smith was in Newquay when he loaded a Beretta T24 hydraulic drilling rig onto a two axel Bateson platform trailer.

The trailer was attached to a white Ford Ranger belonging to Smith’s employer.

Smith secured the drilling rig by placing one ratchet strap over the mast and attached it to the welded eyelets on the trailer. Despite being assisted by a colleague, it was Smith’s responsibility to ensure the rig was correctly secured.

The Ford Ranger was spotted on CCTV at Callestick and then on the A30 with the single ratchet strap visible over the drilling rig.

However, at around 1pm, Smith stopped at Macsalvors in Redruth and failed to check the load prior to leaving. CCTV from the location shows the Ford Ranger, trailer and drilling rig in the carpark, but crucially no ratchet strap was visible securing the drilling rig.

Smith then continued on the B3297 towards Helston, entering the area of Burras at around 1.30pm.

Travelling in the other direction was 34-year-old Jessica Allman from Newquay in her grey Fiat Punto.

Jessica worked as a ‘Young People Adviser’, promoting good mental health through personal development, education and employment.

She had left Costa Coffee, Helston, with the intention of driving to her next work appointment in Pool.

As Smith drove through Burras and tried to negotiate a left-hand bend, the drilling rig became unstable and fell from the offside of the trailer.

The rig struck the Fiat Punto, tragically causing Jessica catastrophic unsurvivable injuries.

The Ford Ranger and trailer continued a short distance up the road where it came to a stop.

Emergency services attended the scene and investigating officers noted an old and worn ratchet strap broken into two pieces.

There were an additional seven straps available to Smith within the vehicle and trailer which he chose not to use.

Several webbing straps were in an advanced stated of wear and should have been discarded long before the collision. There was evidence of poor practice by Smith relating to the fixing of the webbing straps.

When weighed, the Ford Ranger, trailer and drilling rig exceeded combined weight restrictions, which would have contributed to the vehicle instability when cornering.

DC Helen Lentern from the Serious Collisions Investigation Team, said: “This collision was the culmination of Smith’s wholesale disregard of the security of the load and safety of other road users.

“If an adequate number of lashings had been used in conjunction with blocking, then the failure of a single strap should not have results in load movement.

“The single strap used by Smith was in an advance state of wear and should have been discarded long before this collision.

“Since May 2022, it has been a requirement in the Categorisation of Vehicle Defects to secure heavy plant through a combination of loading or packing to a bulkhead and a minimum of four direct lashings.

“This collision was entirely preventable and Jessica Allman was a blameless member of the public.

“Jessica had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time as she went about her working day. Nothing will ever bring Jessica back but we hope her family are now able to feel some closure following the conclusion of the case”.