More than a year after pregnant Hollyoaks star Frankie Julia Hough was tragically killed in a car crash on the M66 near Manchester, her heartbroken partner is urging people to drive safely. Calvin Buckley said his life “completely shattered in a moment” when he lost both Hough and their unborn daughter Neeve in the May 2023 crash, and in an effort to prevent others from experiencing that same heartbreak, he has teamed with Safer Roads Greater Manchester for the “Touch. Screen” campaign.
“It’s become quite common for people to use their phone to check messages, send photos or change the music while driving. The use of mobile phones in our society has grown, and for some people it’s all they’ve ever known,” Buckley says in the campaign’s radio advert, per the Daily Mail. “But all it takes is a split second to become distracted, and when you take your eyes off the road anything could happen. You could hit another car, a pedestrian, or injure yourself. Please don’t touch your phone while driving. You could get fined, get points on your licence or, more seriously, take somebody’s life.”
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Buckley joined the campaign just over a year after he lost both his partner (who has also been identified as Frankie Jules-Hough in some media reports) and their unborn daughter when 22-year-old Adil Iqbal crashed into the actress’ car on the afternoon of May 13, 2023. Iqbal had reportedly been filming himself and was swerving in and out of lanes at speeds as high as 123 miles per hour when he lost control of his vehicle. Hough, who had pulled over on the hard shoulder with a flat tire, as well as her unborn child, died at a hospital two days later, while others in the vehicle – including her two sons and nephew – were treated for their injuries.
“Two people lost their lives as a result of someone using their phone while driving, and to put it simply my life was destroyed,” Buckley said. “I lost my partner and the chance to become a father, but it has also affected many other people and the effects of this incident will stay with us for the rest of our lives.”
Buckley said that his “life was completely shattered in a moment and now I’m trying to rebuild my life and make something positive out of it by supporting this campaign and the vision zero strategy.”
Iqbal pleaded guilty to killing Hough and also admitted to causing serious injury to her son. He was initially sentenced to 12 years in jail, but Court of Appeal judges in October 2023 increased Iqbal’s sentence to 15 years after deeming the original sentencing unduly lenient.
