R v Phillip Hollis
David Polglase prosecuted a former Merseyrail driver after he crashed a train carrying 12 passengers and a guard on March 13th last year. Phillip Hollis, whose train was travelling over 40mph in a 15mph zone, admitted sending a Whatsapp message to his friend moments before his train crashed through a barrier at Kirkby station causing £450,000 worth of damage.
Hollis was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty to endangering the safety of people conveyed by railway at an earlier hearing.
The case received national and regional press coverage including the BBC, Sky News, the Daily Mail, the Liverpool Echo and The Northern Echo.
