'I still see it every night when I go to sleep': Father recalls moment he watched in horror as his partner and three children were crushed to death by a Polish lorry driver who was scrolling through music on his phone

  • Mark Goldsmith watched four family members get crushed by lorry
  • His daughter, partner Tracy Houghton and her two sons died in the crash
  • Their car was pushed under a heavy lorry and crushed to a third of its size
  • Driver Tomasz Kroker, who was using his phone, was jailed for 10 years 

A father has recalled the devastating moment he watched as four of his family members were crushed to death by a Polish lorry driver who was using his phone. 

Mark Goldsmith was driving behind the Vauxhall that was carrying his daughter Aimee, 11, partner Tracy Houghton and her two sons, Ethan, 13, and Josh, 11.

Lorry driver Tomasz Kroker, 30, smashed into Ms Houghton's car while scrolling through music as he drove along the A34 near Newbury - killing all four in the car.

Three months after the crash, Mr Goldsmith said he cannot stop replaying the moment he watched them get wiped out as they returned from a family holiday. 

Mark Goldsmith (right) has recalled the devastating moment he watched as his daughter, partner Tracy Houghton (left) and her two children were crushed to death by a lorry

Ms Houghton's car was shunted underneath the back of a heavy goods vehicle and crushed to a third of its size in the horrific crash (pictured) on the A34 near Newbury

'It was a scene of total carnage. I still see it every night when I go to sleep and when I wake up,' Mr Goldsmith told the Sunday Times.

'I relive that moment every day. One big bang and they weren't there any more.'

Mr Goldsmith said he 'staggered' from his car to see if he could rescue anyone from the mangled wreckage on the busy road in Oxfordshire.

'I started sobbing. I threw up, they had died instantly,' he said.

His ex-wife, Kate, who is Aimee's mother, said Mr Goldsmith had suffered 'severe mental injuries' in the eight-vehicle crash.

She also revealed their son, Jake, who was travelling in Mr Goldsmith's car when the collision occurred, had been 'profoundly changed' by what he saw. 

Mrs Houghton's son's Ethan ,13, and  Josh, 11, and their stepsister Aimee Goldsmith, 11, (pictured together just days before the crash) were killed instantly in the crash on August 10

Tomasz Kroker (pictured left) was scrolling through his music when he crashed into Tracy Houghton's (right) stationary car

Mark Goldsmith (far right) and his ex-wife Kate (right) have joined with Doug Houghton (far left), who lost his two sons in the crash, and his sister, Vicki Hopkins (left), to call for the mandatory introduction of technology that can detect when a phone is being used by a driver

Mrs Goldsmith said she has not been able to watch the footage of the crash with sound on because she fears the sound of the song played will haunt her forever.

The dash-cam footage from two camera – one pointing into Kroker's cab and one looking at the road ahead – showed the driver looking at his phone, then glancing up just a split-second before impact.

The horrified driver then drops the phone and grabs the steering wheel to prepare for the impact.

Kroker's truck ploughed into a stationary queue of two lorries and four smaller vehicles which were stuck behind a slow-moving articulated lorry near the villages of East and West Ilsley. 

Mr Goldsmith's Vauxhall Zafira was shunted into the back of the Corsa containing his daughter, Mrs Houghton and her sons. 

Dashcam footage from Kroker's lorry cab shows him distracted by his mobile phone for between seven and 45 seconds before the fatal crash

The camera then captures the moment Kroker realises he is about to crash into the stationary traffic at 50mph 

He attempts to brake and swerve but cannot stop in time and crashes into the traffic jam 

Mrs Houghton's car was then pushed under a heavy goods vehicle and crushed to a third of its size.

Kroker, 30, was jailed for 10 years last week over the crash on 10 August. 

Judge Maura McGowan said his attention had been so poor he 'might as well have had his eyes closed'. 

The families of those killed in the crash have branded the sentence an 'insult'.

Doug Houghton, who lost both his sons and his ex-partner, vented his frustration, saying Kroker 'knew the law'.

'No sentence would have been sufficient. It’s not going to bring our kids back,' he told the Sunday Times. 

Aimee's parent's Mark and Kate Goldsmith (pictured) said the 10 year jail sentence handed to Kroker was not enough

Aimee Goldsmith (pictured), who wanted to be a vet, was killed along with stepbrothers when  returning from a camping trip

Josh (pictured left) and Ethan (pictured right) were killed when lorry driver Kroker became distracted by his mobile phone 

PHONE COMPANIES COULD BLOCK PHONE USE IN CARS

The families of the four people killed when Lorry driver Tomasz Kroker, 30, smashed into their car while using his phone are demanding change.

Mark and Kate Goldsmith, who lost their daughter Aimee in the crash, want to see the mandatory introduction of technology that can detect when a phone is being used by a driver.

Doug Houghton, who lost his two sons and ex-partner, is supporting their call for improved detection.

They welcomed the fact that Apple filed a patent in 2008 for technology that could 'lock out' a driver's phone if it senses movement.

And now they want the government to make this 'obligatory' for all smartphones. 

In a heartbreaking victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Goldsmith spoke of her 'absolute and utter devastation' at the loss of her daughter, whom she called 'my hope, my happiness, my balance'.

She also described how after losing his sister Aimee and best friend Ethan, Jake had been 'changed forever', leaving him with little to say and plagued by anger, upset, nightmares and broken sleep.  

'Anyone using a mobile whilst driving is guilty of dangerous driving. It only takes a second of distraction to kill someone, destroying your life, your family's lives, and those of your victim and their family,' she added. 

The family, from Bedfordshire, were driving back from a camping trip and all died instantly in the horrifying crash.

Remarkably, their beloved pet Labrador, Honey, survived the disaster - after apparently fleeing from the wrecked car and running off.

But the dog now sits by the front door, waiting for the children who will never return.

Kroker, from Andover, Hampshire, admitted four counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving at Reading Crown Court on October 10.

The Vauxhall was shunted underneath the back of a heavy goods vehicle and crushed to a third of its size

The family, who were driving back from a camping trip, all died instantly in the horrific crash that left their car unrecognisable 

DEVASTATED FAMILY SAY 10 YEAR SENTENCE FOR LORRY DRIVER 'DOES NOT DO JUSTICE TO THE CRIME' 

The victims' families said after the sentencing that the 10 year sentence handed to Kroker was not enough. 

In a joint statement they said the sentence 'did not do justice' to the crime.

Aimee's mother, Kate Goldsmith, told press outside the court she often saw drivers on their mobile phones and it 'sickened' her. 

In a statement read on behalf of the family, she said: 'Today Tomasz Kroker has been sentenced for killing much-loved members of our family. However, in our eyes, the sentence does not do justice to the crime committed.

'Tracy Houghton, her two sons, Ethan and Josh, and Aimee Goldsmith were innocent victims of his actions. 

'In the moment Mr Kroker chose to look at his phone he caused a multiple-vehicle accident that endangered all surrounding road users and took the lives of Tracy, Ethan, Josh and my daughter Aimee. 

Outside the court, Aimee's mother, Kate Goldsmith (pictured centre) said the sentence was too light

She added: '[Aimee] wanted to be a vet of sorts, someone that looked after animals and talked about her having her own place where animals could go. She had a kitten for Christmas and his name is Vimto and Vimto loves and misses her very much.

'I was getting ready for bed and I heard someone outside and I thought it was strange because I expected Jake and Aimee to have gone back to their dad's but I still hadn't heard from them and I went down to open the door and it was the police.'

She cried as she continued: 'They told me that they were really sorry, that Aimee had been killed in a car accident.

'I continue to see drivers using their phones - it sickens me. If they had seen the devastation they brought my family or to other families by breaking the law, using phones illegally, distracting themselves from driving a potential weapon would they be as sickened as we are.' 

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now