A DRIVER ploughed into another car and killed a man as he was leaning over to pick up his sat nav, a court heard.

Conor Sansom was driving on the A133 towards Colchester when the crash happened near to Bentley Road bridge in Weeley.

Chelmsford Crown Court was told Sansom, 21, had leaned over to pick up his sat nav after it fell off the windscreen and into the passenger foot well.

His car, a Fiat 500, went across the central white line of the A133 and collided almost head on with a Vauxhall Agila.

The Vauxhall then collided with a Hyundai Getz and the Fiat ended up on its roof.

The Vauxhall was being driven by Paul Stevens, 49, from Elmstead Market.

Mr Stevens was taken to the Royal London Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12.30pm. He died from multiple injuries.

His father, Brian Stevens, was his passenger and suffered serious injuries which were treated as life-threatening including a ruptured diaphragm and a collapsed lung.

Paul’s daughters Samantha Stevens and Katie Brown, who was 23-weeks pregnant, were also in the car as the family made their way to a car boot sale in Clacton.

The crash happened at 7.45am on February 20, 2016.

Sansom, of Geranium Close, Clacton, admitted a charge of causing the death of Mr Stevens by careless driving.

But he denied a charge of causing death by dangerous driving and a charge of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

John Caudle, prosecuting, said of Sansom: “Instead of leaving it there or asking his girlfriend to pick it up for him, something which he conceded in the interview that he ought to have done, he leaned over, down into the foot well to try to pick it up, while still driving along the road.

“While trying to locate it, his head was below the level of the dashboard and he was unable to see where he was going.

“He was effectively driving blind.”

Mr Caudle told the court following the crash Sansom told police: “Sat Nav fell off windscreen and I literally leaned over to pick it up.”

“Obviously the car must gave gone over to the other side of the road.”

In a statement read out in the court, Brian Stevens said: “I saw a car, which was travelling in the opposite direction, heading straight for us.

“I said words to the effect of ‘What’s that idiot doing?’ “I remember hearing and feeling a big crash as we were hit by the oncoming car.

“It occurred in a split second.

“Paul was slumped to the right and was motionless.”

In another statement, Miss Stevens, who suffered a gash to her neck, said: “I could see the car all crumpled up on dad’s side.

“You couldn’t even make out that it was a door anymore.”

Miss Stevens suffered a gash to her neck in the collision.

The trial continues.