Teen driver smashed into Jaguar while ‘showing off’ to female passenger

Teenage driver Gareth Jones was ‘showing off’ and driving too fast around a bend when he crossed onto the wrong side of the road and crashed head on into an oncoming red Jaguar (Picture: WalesOnline/Media Wales)

A newly-qualified teenage driver was ‘showing off’ to his female passenger when he lost control on a bend and ploughed into an oncoming car, a court has heard.

Gareth Jones, then 17, was behind the wheel of a white Dacia when he collided head-first into an oncoming Jaguar, leaving both his passenger and the driver of the car he hit with life-changing injuries.

Dashcam footage shows Jones veering around a corner at 49mph, before losing control of his motor.

Moments later he smashed into the nearby Jaguar, with all three people suffering serious injuries from the ‘heavy impact’.

Jones came round the corner at 49mph and smashed into an oncoming Jaguar (Picture: WalesOnline)

A judge at Swansea Crown Court described the teenager’s driving as ‘utterly ridiculous’ and ‘stupid in the extreme’ – but said the defendant’s young age would save him from a sentence of immediate custody.

Brian Simpson, prosecuting, told the court the collision happened on the afternoon of May 30, 2023, on the B4333 near Newcastle Emlyn.

Following the crash, the court heard how the driver of the Jaguar got out of his car and spoke to Jones, who apologised and said he was going too fast. The court heard the speed limit on the stretch of road in question was 60mph.

The Jaguar driver initially declined medical treatment from paramedics at the scene but subsequently went to hospital with whiplash injuries to his back and neck and tenderness to his rib cage. A scan then found a bleed on the brain and he was kept in hospital for observations.

The female passenger meanwhile suffered a laceration to her liver, a contusion on the lung, and a fractured vertebrae in the lower back, which meant she had to spend three months wearing a back-brace.

In statements read to the court, the Jaguar driver said he now feels anxious and vulnerable on the roads as a result of PTSD caused by the crash, along with suffering ‘brain fog and confusion’ and regular headaches.

The female passenger said in a statement the crash had been ‘overwhelming’ and the recovery process was ‘challenging’.

All involved in the crash suffered life-changing injuries (Picture: WalesOnline)

She also said she struggled to sleep and suffered with nightmares for some time afterwards, and that the knock to self-confidence had caused her to give up on her studies at college.

Jones, now aged 19, of Greenfield Terrace, Pontyberem, Carmarthenshire, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.

Ian Ibrahim, for Jones, said the defendant accepted that the speed he took the corner was ‘excessive for the vehicle, excessive for the corner, and excessive for his level of experience’.

He said Jones had passed his driving test just three months prior and was also seriously injured in the collision, spending 17 days in hospital and undergoing open bowel surgery.

He said Jones was currently studying at Gower College and hopes to go to university, and he said his client ‘knows the devastation he has caused’.

Judge Paul Thomas KC told Jones that on the day in question he had been ‘showing off’ behind the wheel and he described the defendant’s driving as ‘stupid in the extreme’ and ‘utterly ridiculous’.

Jones was handed an 18 month suspended sentence and was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course and to do 250 hours of unpaid work in the community.

He was told ‘the only thing that saves you from immediate custody is your age’ and was also disqualified from driving for three years.

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