Families of young people who died when the car they were traveling in collided with a bus said they hope this will be a lesson to others. Jesse Owen, 18, was behind the wheel of his Audi A1 car when it went out of control and crashed into an oncoming bus as he attempted to negotiate a bend in the road at Tonyrefail, Coedely, in the evening hours. December 11 last year.

In the car were 19-year-old Callum Griffiths and 18-year-old Morgan Smith, who died as a result of their injuries. Mr Owen also died from his injuries.

Other passengers, 18-year-old Lucas Vaughan and 19-year-old Sam Griffiths, were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries but survived. Ellis Williams, who was in the front passenger seat of the vehicle, also survived.

an investigation pontypridd On Friday, October 25, the Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Owen was over the legal drink-drive limit at the time of the incident and was likely driving at least 50mph on a 20mph road. Coroner Graeme Hughes concluded that the three teenagers died as a result of a car crash and said he reached this conclusion because the amount of alcohol in Mr Owen’s blood, based on toxicology results, would not have materially affected his driving.

Mr Owen had 113 mg of alcohol per 100 deciliters of blood in his system at the time of impact. The legal limit is 80 mg. Summing up the case, Mr Hughes said Mr Owen did not appear to be drunk when he left the Tonyrefail working men’s club that evening to get into the car with five passengers. It is clear from the CCTV footage that his friends largely did not intervene to prevent him from driving the vehicle.

Mr Hughes explained that he found Mr Owen’s speed was at least 50mph as he attempted to negotiate the bend in Elwyn Street. He said in theory this could normally allow the driver to negotiate the bend safely, but this was hypothetical and did not take into account any variables that occurred in the evening.

He said: “At or near the left bend Jesse Owen lost control of his vehicle. The speed of the vehicle fatally compromised his ability to correct the results.”

Mr Hughes noticed at the time that some passengers were not wearing seat belts. Although the balance of probabilities from the evidence determined that Mr Owen was most likely wearing a seatbelt, the sheer force of the collision caused his seatbelt to be ripped from its buckle as the car split in two.

Following the inquest, Callum Griffiths’ mother Natalie Griffiths said it was an honor to be his mother. “We still cannot believe, and probably never will, that we as parents are standing here trying to summarize our child’s life in one statement for an inquest into his death,” he told the assembled press.

“We don’t believe there are words that can summarize what an incredible person Callum is and how great our love will continue to be. An unconditional love and devotion. Callum was a gift. He is the most precious son we have been blessed with and he has changed our lives forever. He was handsome, caring, sensitive, loving, and a pleasure to be with. It was an honor to be his parents and we cherish those 19 years.

“Callum was a world champion kickboxer, a talented barber and perfect in every way until he was tragically taken from us. Callum was a passenger in a friend’s car. It’s something Callum has been through a few times.

“We believed we could trust Callum’s judgement. As a family we could not protect our precious son on that fateful night. We have spent the last 19 years of Callum’s life trying to do just that. As a parent this is the most painful thing to have to deal with, as another of our son’s friends and the young driver drove by.” , was that he could ride in the back of a car with people his age.

“We think this is not working because of the outdated driver’s license system. One in five drivers have an accident within the first year. Newly licensed drivers under 25, driving with peers, are four times more likely to have a fatal accident.” 7 out of 10 accidents on our roads are caused by young drivers.

“We spent the first months of our grief not only getting up every day trying to live a life that goes on, an endless void that can never be filled, but also ensuring that Callum’s life and legacy continues by helping 2Wish Cymru. 40% of the lives lost in other countries of the world We are campaigning for a version of the British diploma license used to save the statistic – it’s a story people will read and forget – we certainly didn’t believe everyone would sign it until it happened. we call. petition bring changes. Callum was an inspiration and a success. He achieved so much in such a large period of time.

“As a family, we have been sentenced to life imprisonment. We can no longer hold our precious son, we cannot make new memories. We have to experience the pain of watching our friends grow up, get married, have a family. If we can help.” “We believe there could be no more lasting memory for our precious son to make these changes.”

Morgan Smith’s aunt Amy said: “Today has been a difficult day for us as a family. We have had to sit and listen and relive that tragic night when Morgan was taken from us. Words can never express the pain we feel.” how much we miss our beautiful son every day.

“Morgan was very ambitious. He had his whole life ahead of him. Unfortunately, we will never see him grow into a young man and realize his ambitions. There is nothing that can bring Morgan back to us but we hope this tragedy can happen. We advise other drivers before getting behind the wheel as speed and alcohol are lethal.” “It’s a lesson in being more responsible.”

The inquest heard from Mr Williams, who was the only passenger in the vehicle who was able to give evidence to the inquest. He said that Mr. Williams’ friends were returning from the workers’ club that day after his father’s funeral.

He noted that Mr Owen had a black Audi vehicle and that it had a private number plate, adding that he had driven that vehicle a lot before and had no concerns about Mr Owen’s driving. Mr Williams declared that in his opinion Mr Owen was “the safest driver of us all”.

But as the teenagers were returning from the Tonyrefail working men’s club in the evening, Mr Williams said he heard “wows” as the car lost control on the bend before crashing into the bus. He said he was sitting in the front passenger seat and recalled the other four sitting in the back of the vehicle.

He said the vehicle was too small for all of them to sit properly and the four people in the back must have been on top of each other. “Jesse passed by the primary school and we passed the Coedely pub. “I thought he was going fast, but I wasn’t worried,” he said. But later in the journey Mr Williams recalled: “Before the corner I heard Sam say ‘wow’. “I looked to my right and saw Jesse looking scared.”