A truck driver who spent more than a third of her driving time using her phone in the two hours before she caused a fatal crash has been sent to prison. Ric Stevens breaks down the sequence of events on that fatal morning and describes the impact it has had on Caleb Baker’s friends and family.
Truck driver Sarah Schmidt left her home in Dannevirke about 5.38am on the day she killed Caleb Baker.
About three minutes later, driving north, she reached into the centre console of her Volvo truck and trailer unit, picked up her phone and unlocked it by scanning her face.
Still driving, she looked at the device for about five seconds and put it down again.
Three minutes later, at 5.44am, she picked up her phone and scanned her face again. This time, she held it for longer – about two minutes – and used it to send a Snapchat message.
Over the next two hours, while driving to the Port of Napier and starting on a return trip towards Palmerston North, Schmidt
