People believe a generation's obsession is the harsh consequence which led to the death of a 26-year-old man.
Jordan Welsby died after he was struck by a car after enjoying a night out with his rugby teammates on Boxing Day in 2020. Jordan sustained "catastrophic" head injuries and sadly died in hospital a week later, aged only 26.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday how the Blackbrook ARLFC half back had been crossing Prescot Road in St Helens at around 11pm before he was struck by a car and "catapulted into the air". He was rushed to Aintree Hospital but he sadly later died. Faisal Yasin, of Wensley Way in Rochdale, had been driving within the 30mph speed limit, and weather conditions were said to have been "extremely poor" at the time.
READ MORE: Heartbroken girlfriend 'screamed' when she heard last song at boyfriend's funeral
READ MORE: Paedophile plied girl, 13, with wine and bought her Primark bra
But the now 25-year-old drove "directly into" Mr Welsby without braking beforehand or attempting any evasive manoeuvre. When police checked his mobile phone, they found that he had been Snapchatting with his then partner while driving.
This included sending one message within one minute of the crash occurring. Yasin had received a reply in the intervening period, which went unopened.
Yasin has one previous conviction for two offences of obstructing police and driving without insurance following an incident in August 2020, which saw him refuse to give his details to officers after being stopped for having a defective rear light. He then received a further three penalty points when he was pulled over again on December 31, the day Mr Welsby died, for driving a car which had a defective tyre.
Neelan Gomersall, defending, told the court that her client had been en route to deliver a food order for his dad's business, which was based on Duke Street in St Helens town centre, at the time of the fatal accident while he was back home from university over the Christmas holidays. He later went on to complete his studies in chemical engineering and obtain full-time employment.
Ms Gomersall told the court the incident "can be described as a collision which was caused by a momentary loss of concentration" and said Yasin is now "depressed and wracked with guilt."
Yasin admitted causing death by careless driving, and was jailed for 10 months and banned from the roads for 15 months. Sentencing, Judge Neil Flewitt KC said: "I recognise that the grief will remain long after whatever sentence I impose today.
"I am acutely aware that nothing I can say or do will lessen their suffering. I recognise that your life too has changed irreversibly following the events of December 26 2020 – at least in your case, there is some opportunity for recovery."
The decision to give Yasin a 10 month jail sentence and 15 month driving ban has been slammed as an "insult" to the victim's family by readers.
Others have also expressed their outrage that he was on Snapchat and have slammed a culture 'obsessed' with their phones.
Sue Knowles said: "So very sorry for the loss of this young life. The sentence is far too lenient.
"There is a generation that has been created that obsess over their mobile phone devices and this is such a consequence of that culture. RIP to the young man."
Another wrote on the Liverpool ECHO website: "Mad how many people think it's alright to use their phone while their driving or ever just stopped at a light. See it constantly. Absolute wasters the lot of them. They might as well be getting behind the wheel and cracking a bottle of scotch. Let's call it for what it is, manslaughter."
One reader wrote: "If you can’t leave your phone alone while driving then you deserve everything you have coming, I see them every day looking down at their thighs while on a main road, and none of them look like Lewis Hamilton, ZERO , ZILCH, anyone doing this is delusional, think of the family you're going to destroy, if you don’t have a centre console pod then your phone should be in the glove box. Selfish people with a moral compass the size of a fly!
On Facebook, Danni Tierney, said: "10 months. Absolutely ridiculous. That is actually disgusting and shows what the 'justice system' is like.
"He should have got longer than that. Heartbreaking for the family."
Sue Knowles said: "So very sorry for the loss of this young life. The sentence is far too lenient.
"There is a generation that has been created that obsess over their mobile phone devices and this is such a consequence of that culture. RIP to the young man."
Michelle Furnical said: "10 months is an absolute disgrace. Driver on his phone as well. This is disgusting, talk about kicking the family while they're down. How is this justice?"
Suzi Sioux said: "Can't believe that sentence. It needs to be appealed. He should have received at least ten years not ten months. Unbelievable."
Donna Steele said: "10 months. Someone loses their life. A family shattered forever because of one selfish man's negligence and he gets 10 pathetic months. What a justice system and example to set to others."
Commenting on the ECHO website, one reader said: "Until the legal system gets real about sentencing, such light sentences will fail to be any deterrent whatsoever.
"The negligible sentence given to this habitual dangerous driver on the roads is disgusting. Anyone who causes death while driving should also receive an automatic life time ban from driving any vehicle."
One reader said: "10 months? Absolutely disgraceful for taking someone's life. What would the judge do if it was his son.?"
Another reader 'kr0151' said: "That pathetic sentence is an insult to the victim and his poor family."
One reader said: "I feel so sorry for Jordan's family. Such a promising young man. 10 months – should've been 10 years. All this pain for the sake of using his phone."
Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the Echo Daily newsletter here