Shocking moment lorry driver ‘looking for podcast’ on his phone veers off motorway before ploughing into car

SHOCKING footage shows a lorry driver ploughing into a car - narrowly missing a family as he searched for a podcast on his phone.

Dashcam footage shows Raymond Catterall, 44, driving along the A55 near Bangor, North Wales, with his phone in one hand.

He is seen splitting his focus between looking up at the road and back down on his phone.

Up ahead, a stationary car can be seen, with Raymond failing to spot it.

He then slams into the side of the vehicle and nearly ploughs into people standing beside the road.

He veers off the highway before bashing into a bush.

When he comes to a stop, he is seen raising his hands up to his head, seemingly recognising he'd placed himself in hot water.

The Merseyside man pleaded guilty to dangerous driving as he faced Wales' Caernarfon Crown Court.

He was slapped with an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

The crash occurred on May 15 last year with the lorry smashing the back of a Kia Rio, prosecutor William Griffin told the court.

When questioned by cops at the time, Raymond admitted he should have seen the Kia - but claimed it pulled out in front of him.

The court heard he was grilled on whether he had any distractions, but he said "not that he could remember".

Raymond's lawyer Simon Mintz said: "He was trying to find a podcast, for what it's worth, but that was enough of a distraction for him to not see the car on the carriageway."

He added that Raymond had since showed plenty of remorse and deep regret.

He had driven for Johnsons Workwear for 28 years but now has his licence disqualified for 12 months.

To regain his licence after the ban, Raymond will need to past a retest.

His other consequences include having to do 150 hours of unpaid work as well as a three-month curfew from 7pm to 7am.

He'll cop electronic monitoring so that he sticks to it.

Judge Timothy Petts called the crash was "entirely avoidable" and said it was a reminder for drivers to resist looking at their phones.