Matthew Topham: Lottery winner sentenced over fatal crash

A lottery winner who caused a fatal Christmas Day crash when he took his eyes off the road to find his young son's teddy bear has avoided jail.

Matthew Topham, 31, who claimed a £45m jackpot in 2012, said he had been distracted by a "piercing scream".

Mary Jane Regler, 75, died in the head-on crash in North Cockerington, Lincolnshire, on 25 December 2019.

Her husband Rodney, 77, who was driving the other car, survived but was seriously injured.

A jury at Lincoln Crown Court cleared Topham of causing death by dangerous driving. He had admitted a lesser charge of careless driving before trial.

The judge in the case said Topham now had "the burden of taking a life".

Sentencing him to 16 weeks in jail, suspended for two years, Catarina Sjolin Knight said the EuroMillions winner had made an "avoidable decision".

In a victim statement read in court, Mr Regler paid tribute to his "beloved" wife, saying: "My life has changed forever."

"I bear the driver no malice, but I will never forgive him for what he has done to me and my family," he said.

During the trial, the court heard Topham, who was returning from visiting his wife's family, had veered into another car's path while distracted.

His BMW then crashed head-on into an oncoming Ford Fiesta.

The Ford's front seat passenger, Mrs Regler, was killed while her husband survived but was seriously injured.

Topham told the court his son's scream was like "the sound of a burglar alarm going off" and he had instinctively looked away from the road.

"I honestly don't believe I thought about what I was about to do," he said.

"If I could take it back I would, but I can't."

Prosecutors argued Topham, who was travelling separately from his wife, should have pulled over to retrieve the toy instead of choosing to "plough on".

Topham, of Swinderby, Lincolnshire, was also cleared of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, but admitted careless driving in relation to causing injury to Mr Regler.

In addition to his sentence, Topham was banned from driving for 12 months and made the subject of a curfew.

Speaking after the hearing, Det Insp Joanna Reeves, of Lincolnshire Police, said the right thing would have been for Topham to find a safe place to pull over.

"He didn't do that and he now lives with the consequences," she said.

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