Driver jailed after unsecured trailer load caused death of Newquay woman
34-year-old Jessica Alman from Newquay died after the rig fell from the trailer and hit her car on the B3297 in Helston
Last updated 10th Dec 2025
A man has been jailed for five years and four months after his failure to properly secure a drilling rig onto a trailer resulted in the death of a woman from Newquay.
Liam Smith, 35, from Helston, appeared at Truro Crown Court today (December 10) for sentencing, after previously pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
Smith was also disqualified from driving and will need to complete an extended test to regain his licence.
The court heard how on 19 July 2022 Smith was in Newquay when he loaded a Beretta T24 hydraulic drilling rig onto a two axel Bateson platform trailer, securing it with one ratchet strap despite having seven more straps available..
The trailer was attached to a white Ford Ranger belonging to Smith’s employer.
The Ford Ranger towing the trailer was later seen on CCTV at Callestick and then on the A30, with the single ratchet strap visible over the drilling rig, but when Smith stopped in Redruth at around 1pm, cameras showed there was no strap securing the load.
Smith then continued on the B3297 towards Helston, entering the area of Burras at around 1.30pm.
As Smith drove through Burras and tried to negotiate a left-hand bend, the drilling rig fell off the trailer and struck a grey Fiat Punto travelling in the opposite direction.
34-year-old Jessica Alman from Newquay who was driving the car suffered fatal injuries in the collision.
The Ford Ranger and trailer continued a short distance up the road where it came to a stop.
Emergency Services attended the scene and investigators noted an old and worn ratchet strap broken into two pieces.
Devon and Cornwall Police said there were an additional seven straps available to Smith within the vehicle and trailer which he chose not to use.
Officers also discovered that several webbing straps found in the vehicle were in an advanced stated of wear and should have been discarded long before the collision.
The Ford Ranger, trailer and drilling rig were also found to exceeded combined weight restrictions, contributing to the vehicle instability when cornering.
DC Helen Lentern from the Serious Collisions Investigation Team, said: “This collision was the culmination of Smith’s wholesale disregard of the security of the load and safety of other road users.
“If an adequate number of lashings had been used in conjunction with blocking, then the failure of a single strap should not have results in load movement.
“The single strap used by Smith was in an advance state of wear and should have been discarded long before this collision.
“Since May 2022, it has been a requirement in the Categorisation of Vehicle Defects to secure heavy plant through a combination of loading or packing to a bulkhead and a minimum of four direct lashings.
“This collision was entirely preventable and Jessica Allman was a blameless member of the public.
“Jessica had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time as she went about her working day. Nothing will ever bring Jessica back but we hope her family are now able to feel some closure following the conclusion of the case”.