Potato delivery driver, 27, caught on his own dashcam swigging Bollinger champagne from a bottle, sending photos to friends and rolling cigarettes at the wheel before crashing into a family-of-five is jailed for 16 months

• Mason Cowgill, 27, drove his work truck while drinking champagne and texting
• His dashcam showed him roll a cigarette with both hands off the steering wheel
• He ploughed into the back of a family car with three children enjoying a day out
• Cowgill, of Gargrave near Skipton, North Yorkshire, has been jailed for 16 months

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A reckless driver who ploughed his work truck into the back of a family car while drinking champagne and rolling cigarettes has been jailed for 16 months.

Mason Cowgill, 27, was caught on his own internal dash cam drinking from a bottle of Bollinger while travelling along the A65 near Ingleton, North Yorkshire, on June 7 last year.

The driver – who worked for a potato delivery firm – was also filmed preparing a roll-up cigarette and texting with both hands off the steering wheel as several vehicles were spotted in the footage travelling in the opposite direction.

Prosecutor Kelly Sherif told York Crown Court that Cowgill ploughed into the back of a stationary car, writing it off. Inside was a family with three children on a trip to North Yorkshire. 

The family car had been waiting 30 seconds to turn with its indicator light on as Cowgill careered into the vehicle. 

Miraculously, none of the family members were injured but their car was so badly damaged they had to return home via public transport, Ms Sharif said. 

Mason Cowgill, 27, sent text messages and pictures on his mobile phone while driving, often looking away from the road for long stretches of time

Internal dashcam footage show Cowgill drinking Bollinger footage behind the wheel on the day he crashed into a car with three children inside

At other times during his drive, he had both hands off the steering wheel while he rolled up a cigarette, again looking away from the road

Ms Sherif said less than three weeks before the crash, Cowgill had carried out a crime spree in Harrogate on May 20, stealing among other things, Chablis and prosecco from Tesco and wine from the White Hart Hotel in Cold Bath Road.

Cowgill, of Gargrave, near Skipton, North Yorkshire, was armed with tools to remove security tags from shop items, took clothes and other items from TK Maxx in Harrogate. He also used the knowledge he had gained as a delivery driver to the hotel to raid it for wine and meat.

Oliver Connor, defending, said Cowgill had been going through a difficult time because of financial problems and a dispute with his father and was drinking.

He had gone to Harrogate for a ‘change of scenery’ before embarking on a crime spree.

Since then, he had tackled his drink and drug issues, got himself a promise of a job and had been taking medication to deal with his depression and anxiety, Mr Connor said.

Mason Cowgill, 27, from Gargrave in North Yorkshire, was filmed by a camera fitted inside the vehicle swigging from a bottle of Bollinger while travelling along the A65 near Ingleton on June 7 last year

Cowgill pleaded guilty to dangerous driving along with the two shop thefts and hotel burglary.

He had a previous conviction for drink driving when he had been substantially over the limit and was on a suspended prison sentence for arson and malicious communication when he carried out his latest offences, the court heard. 

Judge Simon Hickey told Cowgill: ‘Do you pose a risk to the public? You do in terms of driving. You were looking down at your phone. Certainly they were there to be seen, and they were not.’ 

He jailed Cowgill for 16 months, banned him from driving for two years and eight months and ordered him to take an extended driving test before driving alone again. 

Ms Sheriff said the family on holiday were at the end of a queue of stationary traffic as they waited at the junction of the B6255 and A65 in Ingleton at 11am on June 7.

They were there for about 30 seconds before Cowgill’s truck came down the B6255 and hit the rear of their car forcefully. 

Cowgill drank Bollinger champagne while driving, causing once accident with a family of five and later almost causing another

Cowgill and the car driver exchanged details, but Cowgill left the scene before officers arrived, continuing with his journey while making more phone calls to friends at the wheel and almost causing another collision.

After Cowgill reported the collision to his boss, the owner of the van, the internal footage was reviewed. Cowgill was sacked and the footage was handed over to the police.

Outside court PC Babs Parsons, said: ‘Cowgill is lucky he did not kill or seriously injure someone that day.

‘The manner in which he drove demonstrated a clear danger to other road users and I’m amazed he did not cause any more collisions.

‘This was not a momentary lapse in concentration, this is a sustained period in which Cowgill paid very little or no attention at all to the road and was clearly not in control of the van he was driving.

‘I thank the owner of the van for bringing this footage to our attention as it has enabled us to take a very dangerous driver off the road.’

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