BRITAIN’S youngest EuroMillions winner told a cop that a “simple mistake” had “f***** up somebody’s life” moments after he killed a gran in a car crash. Racing-mad Matt Topham, 31, left Mary Jane Regler, 75, with fatal chest injuries after the collision in Lincoln in 2019. The £45m jackpot winner said he only looked away from […]
BRITAIN’S youngest EuroMillions winner told a cop that a “simple mistake” had “f***** up somebody’s life” moments after he killed a gran in a car crash.
Racing-mad Matt Topham, 31, left Mary Jane Regler, 75, with fatal chest injuries after the collision in Lincoln in 2019.
The £45m jackpot winner said he only looked away from the road for “three seconds” to retrieve his toddler’s teddy from the rear footwell.
Topham today avoided jail after he was cleared of causing death by dangerous driving following a trial – but said he would “carry the guilt” with him “forever”.
Bodycam footage released today by Lincolnshire Police shows the moment the EuroMillions winner spoke to officers at the scene of the crash.
In the clip, he is heard saying: “I’m fine. I’ve just gutted about everything, obviously.”
Topham goes on to explain how he had looked away for a split second to grab his screaming two-year-old’s teddy – but then veered into the wrong lane.
He is heard telling the officer: “It was just a simple mistake to try and help my son and it f**** up someone’s life, you know.”
The officer responds by putting his arm around Topham, saying: “I’ll let you into a secret. I’ve been there, alright?
“I’ve been in exactly the position you’re in now. And I know s*** it feels. All right.”
Topham had admitted a lesser charge of causing death by careless driving.
He could have faced up to 14 years in jail for the more serious offence.
But he was instead handed a 16 week sentence suspended for two years.
Topham was also handed a 12 month driving ban and will be electronically tagged and subject to a curfew between 7pm and 7am.
Sentencing Topham for death by careless driving today, Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight said: “This is a tragic case.
“I accept you looked back only for a moment.
“I find this was a deliberate decision to continue driving on a dark, winding country road while turning round. It was the wrong decision and one you should not have made.
“You knew he [his son] had just dropped his teddy bear. He wasn’t in danger. He was just upset.
“This was an avoidable distraction.”
In a statement outside court today, the Lotto Winner said: “I cannot begin to express the remorse I feel about the tragic events of 25 December 2019.
“I am deeply sorry for my actions and the devastating impact that they have had on the Regler family and I will carry that guilt with me forever.
“I would like to thank my family, friends and my legal team for their support throughout this process.”
In a victim impact statement read, Mr Regler paid tribute to his “beloved” wife, adding: “My life has changed forever.”
He said: “No matter what happens, nothing can bring my wife back to me.
“It has ruined my life, but I will not let this dictate my life.
“I bear the driver no malice but I will never forgive him for what he has done to me and my family.”
Mrs Regler’s daughter Lesley said “heartbroken doesn’t come close” to describing her feelings after her mother’s death.
She added: “I’m just existing now. I have lost the one person in life who loved me with all their heart.”
Mrs Regler’s son David also spoke of his distress through a victim impact statement, describing his mother’s death as “very traumatic”.
During his trial the court heard Topham left his parents-in-law’s animal park, near Louth, Lincolnshire, with his then two children and dog.
His wife Cassey travelled separately in their Volvo XC90 because they had so many of the children’s presents to transport.
After looking away for a split second to grab his screaming two-year-old’s teddy, he veered into the wrong lane.
Terrified Rodney Regler saw Topham’s car and shouted “for Christ’s sake, he’s on the wrong side of the road” but was unable to steer out of the way.
Following the smash Topham ran to the victims and called cops and took blame for the smash as Mr Regler told him “my wife’s not looking so good.”
Mrs Regler died from her injuries.
Rodney, 78, who was driving, suffered a fractured ankle, ribs and sternum and cracked vertebrae.
Outside the court, the widower, whose late wife Mary was known to everyone as ‘Jane,’ told The Sun: “I don’t forgive him, I never will. Ever.
“But I don’t wish him ill because I believe it was a complete accident. There are no winners, are there?”
Mr Regler said: “I certainly couldn’t care less that he’s a lottery winner, like I say, good luck.”
The grandad, of Louth, Lincolnshire, added: “He did the right thing from the start and admitted that the crash was his fault. At least he did that.
“He admitted it to police at the scene from the start. He held his hands up.”
Revealing how the crash had shattered him, Rodney said: “We were married 56 years, me and Jane. We were soul mates.”
Reliving the smash Mr Regler, who now lives alone, said: “It all just happened in three seconds.”
He added: “We had been to our son’s house for Christmas dinner and we were driving home.
“It was dark and we were talking about feeding our horse, just giving him a little nip of Guinness before tucking him in because it was Christmas.
“I saw these lights up ahead and I turned but then, bang – it had all happened and I was trapped in the car.
“I’ve never met the man, I don’t want to meet him, what happened happened.
“In my mind I know it happened that way because we’ve all made mistakes if we’re honest, if people tell the truth, that’s what they’ve done.
Topham, of Swinderby, Lincs, admitted causing death by careless driving but was cleared of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by driving dangerous driving.
The jury heard he had been driving for 12 years and had never previously been involved in an accident or got any points on his licence.
Mr Topham previously told the court he left school at 16 and joined his father’s painting and decorating business before his life was changed by the lottery win in 2012.
He said: “My wife placed a ticket on the Euromillions, we won £45 million.”
The couple, who now have a third child aged just four months, also bought a £250,000 home in a ‘normal street’ – but have since moved.
He said: “The lottery win gave us the freedom to give people a step up in life.”
