A DRIVER who hospitalised a seven-month-old baby after crashing into a car whilst on her mobile phone has had her driving ban extended by 10 years.

Nel Owen, 28, of Criccieth was jailed for 10 months and banned from driving for three years after admitting dangerous driving when she appeared at Mold Crown Court in October 2015.

She injured a woman and her two children when she crashed her cattle lorry into their car while using a mobile phone on the A470 near Caersws.

She was banned from driving professionally for three years.

Owen had previous convictions for speeding and using a mobile phone at the wheel and had already served a six-month ban.

With the current driving ban nearing its end Owen applied to the Traffic Commissioner for Wales for her professional HGV licence to be returned.

But after a hearing at Welshpool, Traffic Commissioner Nick Jones rejected her application and disqualified her from professional driving for 10 years.

In his written decision, issued last week, Mr Jones said high standards are expected from professional drivers.

“But Nel Owen has demonstrated a lack of regard to basic road safety.

Any good HGV driver who suffers from a lapse in judgement and exceeds a speed limit whilst driving an HGV or uses a mobile phone in an HGV, will reflect and learn from their error.

“It is clear to me that Nel Owen did not reflect on her previous endorsements.

“After her six months disqualification one would have thought that Nel Owen might have reflected on how she drove HGVs. I consider it in the interests of the safety of road users that Nel Owen not be able to drive HGVs for very long period.

“I have no jurisdiction over Nel Owen’s ordinary driving licence and no doubt at the expiry of the court disqualification she is likely to take an extended test with view to her ordinary entitlements being restored.

“I have no hesitation in confirming that Nel Owen is unfit to hold a vocational licence, it is revoked and she is disqualified from holding or applying for any vocational entitlement for a period of 10 years from the date of restoration of her ordinary driving licence.”

A court heard in 2015 heard that Owen made 16 phone calls during an hour and three-quarters journey before hitting a car carrying a mother and two young children. She had also reached 56mph in a lorry on meant to travel at a maximum of 40mph, on 12 occasions.

The impact left a seven-month-old baby with bruising on the brain and hospitalised for six days in Birmingham.

Both children were airlifted to hospital after the Volvo truck hit the car as it waited to turn right on the A470 near Caersws in November 2014. Owen was on a mobile phone at the time and knocked the car into the path of a Transit van.

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