The husband of a woman killed by a £45million EuroMillions winner in a car crash says he will never forgive him.
Matt Topham, 31, killed Jane Regler, 75, on Christmas Day when he took his eyes off the road to pick up a teddy dropped by his son.
Yesterday he was cleared by a jury of death by dangerous driving and was also found not guilty of a second charge relating to the serious injuries suffered by Jane’s husband Rodney Regler, 78.
Rodney, from Louth, Lincolnshire, who was driving the other vehicle, revealed his heartache over the death of his “soulmate” Jane. He said: “I won’t forgive him. I never will, ever, ever forgive the man.”
But big-hearted Rodney also said he believed Topham did not intend to hurt his wife of 56 years. He said: “He took his eye off the road, we’ve all done it – anyone that drives and says ‘I ain’t done it’ is a liar.
“It went wrong for him, and for me and my wife. But I don’t hold grudges. And he’s got to live with it for the rest of his life, if he’s got a conscience.”
Rodney also said that he “couldn’t care less” about Topham’s millions.
The fatal crash happened near North Cockerington, Lincolnshire, in 2019. Topham, driving a BMW X6, told Lincoln crown court his
two-year-old son’s piercing scream caused him to turn around for a “split second”.
He veered into the opposite carriageway on a bend giving Ford Fiesta driver Rodney no time to react. Following the crash Topham immediately dialled 999.
Topham, who won his lotto jackpot with wife Cassey in 2012, then helped carry retired Post Office cleaner Jane out of her passenger seat. He told a police officer at the scene: “I’ve made a simple mistake and f***ed up someone’s life.”
His lawyer Paul Greaney QC had tried to get the dangerous driving charges thrown out at the 11th hour.
Midway through the trial he argued that no jury could safely convict his client, claiming Topham had “no case to answer”.
But Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight disagreed saying Topham was on a “non-urgent journey”. She added: “His youngest child was very unhappy, screaming indeed, but not actually at risk. The defendant looked wholly away from the road. I find there is a case for the defendant to answer.”
Topham admitted causing death by careless driving.
He will be sentenced at the same court today.
