Tragedy struck the M66 motorway in Britain on May 13 of last year when a self-filming speedster plowed into the parked car of actress Frankie Jules-Hough at 123 MPH.
Jules-Hough and her unborn daughter were severely injured in the accident. Both died in hospital from their injuries a few days later. Her two sons and her nephew were also inside the car when the crash occurred. They were injured, but survived.
The driver who caused the accident was Adil Iqbal, a resident of Accrington. He was swerving between lanes in his BMW while filming himself performing the speed run.
Frankie Jules-Hough was a beloved actress on the long-running BBC4 soap opera Hollyoaks. She had pulled onto the hard shoulder to deal with a tire puncture when the fatal accident occurred. She was 38 at the time of her death.
Now, as the anniversary of Jules-Hough’s death nears, her devastated partner, Calvin Buckley, is talking about the effect that the incident has had on him and on the family he shared with the deceased actress. He says that he wants to shine a spotlight on the deadly dangers of mobile phones and distracted driving, and to this end he is promoting a new public-awareness campaign called “Touch. Screen”, which launched its first ads on May 7 of this year.
In statements made in support of the campaign, he emphasized that the tragedy he suffered didn’t just destroy his life, it also affected many other lives. He said that participating in the campaign was part of his attempt to build something positive out of the tragedy that shattered his life.
After the accident, Adil Iqbal plead guilty for charges related to the accident and admitting fault in the death of Jules-Hough and injuries sustained by Thomas her nine-year-old son. He initially received a twelve year prison sentence for his crimes. At a follow-up appeals hearing last October, a three-judge panel increased Iqbal’s penalty to fifteen years.
