Pregnant Hollyoaks actress’ partner slams killer’s ‘lenient’ sentence as ‘insulting’

The partner of a pregnant Hollyoaks actress who was killed in a 123mph motorway crash has described the speeding driver's sentence as "insulting".

Frankie Jules-Hough, 38, was tragically killed by Adil Iqbal[1], 22, on the M66 in Bury, Greater Manchester, on May 13 this year. Iqbal was driving his BMW with one hand and holding his phone with the other to film himself as he swerved across lanes, reaching 123mph. In July, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The victim's boyfriend, Calvin Buckley, said the killer's sentence was "lenient", "disappointing" and "insulting" to the family. He said: "It's not just about giving him a tougher sentence because we want to punish him and it's not that we want revenge for what's happened."

Horror moment driver weaves through traffic at 123mph just before killing Hollyoaks star[2] Calvin Buckley with Frankie Calvin Buckley with Frankie

Talking on BBC[3] Breakfast, he added: "It's like if people aren't getting tough sentences for this they're going to keep doing it and it's just disappointing and insulting to the family." Mr Buckley also said people do not see speeding as a crime and do not understand "the devastation" it can cause.

Describing the crash scene when he arrived and the emergency services treated his partner, Mr Buckley said it looked like a "horror movie". He also said it was like a "miracle" that the woman's two sons and nephew, who were with her in the car, managed to get out of the vehicle, which was "totally crushed".

Mr Buckley said he was grateful that he managed to say goodbye to Frankie and said they were going out for a celebration the day of the tragedy. He explained: "We were going out for a celebration that day, that's the reason Frankie was on the road. I saw Frankie before the incident and said goodbye, I said I love her which I'm really happy that I managed to do. We did get a proper goodbye."

Adil Iqbal Adil Iqbal was jailed for 12 years ( GMP / SWNS)

The actress was 17 weeks pregnant with her first daughter, Neeve, when they were both tragically killed. Iqbal was arrested at the scene and admitted two offences during a hearing at Minshull Street Crown Court. The court heard Frankie had pulled over on the hard shoulder with a tyre puncture, with her two sons and nephew in the car, and was making a call to say she would be late when she let out a "blood-curdling scream".

Iqbal's BMW 140i undertook a motorbike then swerved, over compensated and hit a crash barrier before spinning around and ploughing into Ms Jules-Hough's Skoda Fabia at an estimated 92mph. Ms Jules-Hough was on the phone to Thomas' father who, along with other family, dashed to the scene of the mangled car wreck, as emergency services and air ambulances descended.

Dashcam footage and footage from Iqbal’s phone was shown to the court, watched by relatives of Ms Jules-Hough, some of whom gave heart-rending victim impact statements before the defendant was jailed. Passing sentence, Judge Maurice Greene told him: "She was killed as a result of the most indescribable reckless driving by you Adil Iqbal, leading to the devastation of a family."

References

  1. ^ Adil Iqbal (www.mirror.co.uk)
  2. ^ Horror moment driver weaves through traffic at 123mph just before killing Hollyoaks star (www.mirror.co.uk)
  3. ^ BBC (www.mirror.co.uk)

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