Arran McManus, 36, will be "sorely missed" by his entire family and was praised as the "most wonderful dad" to his two children who he loved "so deeply"09:41, 20 May 2026Updated 10:05, 20 May 2026A lorry driver who was on a video call when he ploughed into a stationary traffic on the motorway, killing a "devoted" dad-of-two, has been jailed for 11 years.‌Zvonko Tomisa, from Vidovec in Croatia, was behind the wheel of a MAN lorry when he ploughed into a Nissan Qashqai driven by Arran McManus, 36. Maidstone Crown Court heard how the 58-year-old lorry driver was heading down the M20 motorway from Dover at about 55mph when he failed to see the traffic was at a standstill between junction 9 and 8 at Lenham.‌The lengthy delay had been caused following an unrelated accident that led to a 50mph speed restriction. But dashcam footage showed Tomisa did not start to brake until less than one second before he smashed into McManus vehicle at about 48mph.‌READ MORE: Car smashes into pensioner's home as two injured and neighbours describe 'chaos'READ MORE: Man murdered model in 'frenzied attack' and took his phone for 'sinister' callsTomisa had been on the phone to his wife at the time of the crash and it was later revealed his "prolonged" lack of concentration lasted about 28 seconds before the deadly crash. According to data, he had messaged his wife within 10 minutes of setting off from the docks at 7.39am, asking her to call him.He then tried to call her, but she didn't pick up. He then video called her at 7.54am, with the call lasting for just over two minutes. The court heard he also made calls and sent messages to other people, including one message about where he was expected to take the goods he was hauling and more attempts to reach his wife.‌The court heard there were more calls and messages with other contacts in Tomisa's phone. One included a conversation about where he was due to take his delivery to in central London.Mrs Tomisa then video called her husband at 8:26am and the deadly collision happened at about 8:30am. The car McManus was in was crushed in the impact and slammed into a Scania articulated HGV in front of it.‌McManus lived with his partner and their children in Ashford and was on his way to work when the crash happened. He died at the scene.Tomisa was also injured in the crash and later tested negative for drugs and alcohol. His wife was due to have an operation on the day of the collision.Tomisa initially denied a charge of causing death by dangerous driving, reports MailOnline. He later changed his plea to guilty at a hearing shortly before standing trial.‌When jailing Tomisa, Judge Catherine Moore said the crash was not the result of a momentary loss of attention but involved prolonged use of a phone in a "highly distracting" way."Analysis of your phone showed that during the 56 minutes before the collision, there were multiple incoming and outgoing voice calls, messaging exchanges, messaging via Facebook Messenger, repeated camera activations consistent with video calling and there was active communication through a video call immediately before and at collision," she told him via an interpreter.Article continues below"Those actions meant you were inevitably focussing on and interacting with the screen, engaging in a video call with your wife despite the fact you were driving a large vehicle on a motorway."It may well have been you were discussing a medical matter or a matter about which there was some anxiety. But that is no excuse."McManus fiancée, Ashleigh Devlin appeared in court with his parents and said in a victim impact statement: "Arran was our whole life and more. He was the most wonderful dad to our two incredible children, and he was so proud of them both and loved them both so deeply. Arran will be sorely missed by his entire family circle."