In a fatal accident, teenagers split the car in half

The car carrying three teenagers when they died in the crash split in half during the collision, an inquest heard.

it happened on 11 December 2023 when an Audi A1 collided with a bus in Coedely, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Morgan Smith, 18, Callum Griffiths, 19, and driver Jesse Owen, 18, were ejected from the car and died from their injuries.

An inquest found the driver was over the drink-drive limit and could have been charged with causing death by dangerous driving had he survived.

Several witnesses described how the car was traveling at a high rate of speed before it crashed.

The court was told that the Audi was badly damaged and split in two, but that there was no defect in the vehicle that could have caused the split, and that the tires and brakes were in good condition.

Police investigators said it was impossible to say whether the car’s occupants were wearing seat belts properly.

Ellis Williams, who was in the front passenger seat, was the only “walking wounded” to survive the crash.

Two others suffered life-changing injuries.

In his statement, Mr Williams told the court he heard others in the car urging the driver to slow down.

He said that minutes before the crash, “I thought we were going fast. I heard someone say “whoah, whoah, whoah.”

He told the inquest that 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. He added that “the car split in half.”

He said he looked around “screaming” and saw others on the floor.

Toxicology tests showed that Jesse Owen had 113 mg of alcohol per 100 ml in his blood. The legally permissible dose is 80 mg per 100 ml.

Mr Williams said it was the day of his father’s funeral and that they had come from a wake after the funeral.

The group were initially in the pub before moving on to the Tonyrefail Workingman’s Club, where witnesses described them buying drinks.

One of the bar staff said she asked them for ID and served them three alcoholic drinks each.

Luca Watkins, a friend of the group, said in a statement that they were leaving to go to either Coedely or Cardiff.

He said: “We saw them leave as a group, within minutes I heard there was an accident in the Koedeli area.”

The court heard that the driver was not going to stay with the group but was simply going to take them to Cardiff as he had work in the morning.

“Extremely Fast”

Witness Martin Russell told the inquest he was waiting to exit the junction when he saw a car drive past “at a high rate of speed”.

He said the road had a 20mph limit and the car was going “extremely fast”, and estimated the speed to be around 50-60mph (80-97km/h).

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody go that fast on that road,” he said.

Hugh John said in his statement that he was walking his dog on Ely Valley Road and the speed caused him to tell a friend that the car was going fast.

He said he recognized his friend’s son’s car and saw “a lot of heads” in the car. He had to “drive in the middle of the road through the chevrons to keep the line” because of the speed he was going.

The coroner was shown CCTV footage showing the car smashing into the front of the bus sideways and then traveling some distance down the road.

The investigation showed that the vehicle was traveling at a speed of about 82 km/h.

Had the car been traveling at 20 mph (32 km/h), it was unlikely he would have lost control, the coroner said.

The driver “doesn’t take risks”

The court learned that it was dark and raining, but there was no rain at the time of the incident.

In a statement from his parents, Jesse was described as a “safe, careful and considerate driver” who drove almost every day.

They said they convinced him that it was important not to drink and drive and that he had “not been a risk-taker or a reckless person in his life”.

But the coroner was told that if he had survived, Mr Owen could have been charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

Mr Griffiths was described as a “talented kickboxer” who “found his calling as a hairdresser”, while Mr Smith was described by his mother as a “talented boxer”.

The court was shown images of CCTV cameras showing the teenagers leaving the workers’ club together, as well as images of the car in various places while it was moving.

The investigation is ongoing.