New driver and two friends die after ‘split car in half’ crash in South Wales

A rookie driver killed himself and two friends after crashing into a bus with such force that his car was “split in half”, an inquest heard.

Jesse Owen, 18, was over the drink-drive limit when he got behind the wheel of an Audi A1 with five friends in South Wales on December 11.

He crashed a car with personalized number plates and tinted windows into a Stagecoach bus as it speeded around a bend in Coedely, near Tonyrefail.

Mr Owen was killed along with 19-year-old Callum Griffiths, a champion boxer, and 18-year-old Morgan Smith. All three died from blunt force injuries.

An inquest into the deaths at Pontypridd Coroner’s Court on Friday heard from Mr Owen’s father Justin, who said his son was a relatively new driver.

He said: “We can honestly say he was a safe and careful, considerate driver. Living in a small community, if he was driving we would have heard about it. If speed was a factor, we would have been surprised by it, as Jesse just wasn’t known for driving like we or anyone we knew.

“We trusted Jesse because we knew him as a person and we knew his character. He was a good man with a kind, generous heart and a loyal friend.”

He said his son was “only an occasional drinker and not a heavy drinker.”