Teen death crash driver was drink-driving – inquest
Family photos
The driver of car that hit a bus and split in half, killing three people including himself, had been drinking and faced being charged if he had survived, an inquest has heard.
Jesse Owen, 18, and two of his four passengers, Morgan Smith, 18, Callum Griffiths, 19, died when they were thrown from an Audi A1 in Coedely, Rhondda Cynon Taf, on 11 December 2023.
Toxicological tests showed Mr Owen had 113mg of alcohol per 100ml in his blood – the legal limit is 80mg per 100ml.
Recording conclusions of death by road traffic collision, coroner Graeme Hughes said speed caused Mr Owen to lose control, but his “level of intoxication is unlikely to have made a material contribution to the collision”.
The court heard the Audi was heavily damaged and split in two, but had no defects that would have caused the split and its tyres and brakes were in good condition.
The investigation found the car was travelling at about 51mph (82km/h).
If the car had been driven at 20mph (32km/h) it was unlikely there would have been a loss of control, the coroner was told.
Police investigators said it was not possible to say if the teens were wearing seatbelts and Mr Hughes was told that, had he survived, Mr Owen could have been charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
Front seat passenger Ellis Williams was the only “walking wounded” survivor, while the others received life-changing injuries.
He said it had been the day of his father’s funeral and the group had come from the wake.
In a statement, Mr Williams said he had heard others in the car calling for Mr Owen to slow down.
Just before the crash he “thought we were going fast. I heard someone say ‘woah, woah, woah'”.
He said he looked up and saw that “Jesse looked scared”.
After the crash he said he looked to his right and saw the driver’s seat was empty and “the car had split in half”.
He said he looked around “screaming” and saw the others on the floor.
Initially, the group had been to a pub before moving on to Tonyrefail Workingman’s Club where witnesses described them as each having bought drinks.
One member of bar staff said she asked them for ID and had served them three alcoholic drinks each.
Luca Watkins, a friend of the group, said in a statement that the group was leaving to go to either Coedely or Cardiff.
He said: “We saw them leave as a group, within minutes I’d heard there’d been a crash in the Coedely area.”
The court heard Mr Owen was not going to stay out with the group, but was just going to take them to Cardiff because he had work in the morning.
Witness Martin Russell said he was waiting to pull out from a junction and saw the car travelling “exceptionally fast” on the 20mph road and estimated it was going at about 50-60mph (80-97 km/h).
Hugh John said in a statement that he was walking his dog on Ely Valley Road and recognised the car as belonging to the son of his friend and saw “lots of heads” inside.
It had to “drive in the middle of the road over the chevrons to hold the line” due to how fast it was going.
The coroner was shown CCTV which showed the car hit the front of the bus sideways and then travel a distance further along the road.
The court has heard that it was dark and had been raining earlier in the day, but was not at the time of the incident.
In a statement from his parents, Mr Owen was described as “a safe, careful and considerate driver”.
They said they had impressed upon him the importance of not drinking and driving and he “was not a risk taker or reckless in his life”.
Mr Griffiths was described as a “talented kickboxer” who had “found his vocation as a barber”, while Mr Smith was described by his mother in a statement as “a talented boxer”.
The court was shown CCTV images of the teenagers leaving the workingmen’s club together, and images of the car at various locations along its journey.
Speaking after the inquest, Callum’s mother Natalie Griffiths described her son as “gift”.
“We do not believe there are words that can ever sum up or explain how much of an incredible person Callum was and just how great our love is and will continue to be,” she said.
“As a family we have been dealt a life sentence. We can no longer hold on to our precious boy, make new memories and see him smile.”
She called for passenger restriction on new drivers, a change other parents demanded after four teenagers died in an avoidable crash in Gwynedd.
“If we can help to make these changes, we believe there can be no greater lasting legacy for our precious son,” she added.
Morgan’s aunt, Amy Smith said after the inquest it was “difficult” to relive her family’s tragedy.
“Words will never be enough to describe the pain we are going through and how much we miss our beautiful boy every single day.
“There is nothing that can bring Morgan back to us, but we hope this tragedy can be a lesson to other drivers to be more responsible before getting behind the wheel, as speed and alcohol kills.”
