Heartbreaking words from the families of two teenagers who died in a speeding car

The families of teenagers who died when the car they were traveling in collided with a bus expressed hope that this would be a lesson to others. Jesse Owen, 18, was at the wheel of an Audi A1 when it went out of control while trying to negotiate a bend in the road and hit an oncoming bus on the opposite side of the road at Coedely, Tonyrefail, on the evening of December 11 last year.

In the car were Callum Griffiths, 19, and Morgan Smith, 18, who died from their injuries. Mr. Owen also died from his injuries.

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

Investigation at Pontypridd On Friday, October 25, the Coroner’s Court heard that at the time of the incident Mr Owen was over the legal drink driving limit and was probably driving at least 50mph on a 20mph road. Coroner Graeme Hughes concluded that the three teenagers died as a result of a road traffic collision, explaining that he reached this conclusion because it was possible that the amount of alcohol detected in Mr. Owen’s blood based on the results of toxicology tests did not have a significant impact on his ability to drive.

At the time of the collision, Owen had 113 mg of alcohol per 100 deciliters of blood in his system. The permissible limit is 80 mg. Summing up the case, Mr. Hughes said that when Mr. Owen left the Tonyrefail workers’ club earlier that evening to get into a car with five passengers, he did not appear to be intoxicated. It was clear from the CCTV footage that his friends did not interfere too much to prevent him from driving.

Mr Hughes explained that he found that Mr Owen’s speed as he tried to negotiate the bend on Elwyn Street was at least 50mph. He said that while this could theoretically allow the driver to safely negotiate the curve under normal conditions, it was hypothetical and did not take into account any variables that occurred during the evening.

He said: “On the approach to or near the left-hand bend, Jesse Owen lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle’s speed severely limited its ability to correct the consequences.

Hughes stated that some passengers were not wearing seat belts at the time. Although he found that, on the balance of probabilities on the evidence, Mr. Owen was most likely to have been wearing his seat belt, the sheer force of the collision caused the seat belt to break from its buckle and the car to split in two.

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

“We don’t believe there are words that could ever sum up what an amazing person Callum was and how great our love will be. Unconditional love and connection. Callum was a gift. The most precious son we were blessed with, who changed our lives forever. He was handsome, caring, sensitive, loving, and a pleasure to be around. It was an honor to be his parents and we treasure these 19 years.

“Callum was a world champion kickboxer, a talented hairdresser and was simply perfect in every way until he was tragically taken from us. Callum was a passenger in a friend’s car. Callum has had this happen a few times before.

“We believed we could trust Callum’s decisions. As a family, we were unable to protect our precious son on that fateful night. We’ve been trying to do this for the last 19 years of Callum’s life. As a mother and father, it was the most painful thing to deal with. Our son was able to get into the back of a car driven by another friend and a young driver, accompanied by several of his peers.

“We don’t think it helps because of the outdated driving license system. One in five drivers is involved in an accident within the first year. Newly qualified drivers under 25 who drive with passengers of a similar age are four times more likely to die in a crash. Seven out of 10 accidents on our roads involve a young driver.

“We spent the first months of our grief not only trying to get up every day and live a life that would last, an eternal void that could never be filled, but also ensuring that Callum’s life and legacy lived on in support of 2Wish Cymru. We also decided to campaign for some version of the British Graduated Driving License, which is used in other countries around the world and can save up to 40% of fatalities. This would reduce the pressure on teenagers to pick up passengers. We won’t let Callum be just another statistic – a story that people read and forget. No one ever believes it will happen to them – we certainly didn’t until it happened. We encourage everyone to sign petition make changes. Callum was an inspiration and a successful man. He achieved so much in such a cosmic period.

“As a family, we were sentenced to life imprisonment. We can no longer hold our beloved boy or create new memories. We have to live with the agony of watching friends grow up, get married and start families. If we can help we believe there could be no better and lasting memory for our precious son to make these changes.”

Morgan Smith’s aunt, Amy, said: “Today was a tough day for us as a family. We must sit down, listen and relive that tragic night when Morgan was taken from us. Words will never be enough to describe the pain we feel throughout our lives and how much we miss our beautiful boy every day.

“Morgan was so ambitious. He had his whole life ahead of him. Unfortunately, we will never get to see him grow into a young man and fulfill his ambitions. Nothing can bring Morgan back to us, but we hope this tragedy can be softened by a lesson for other drivers to be more responsible before they get behind the wheel, because speed and alcohol kill.”

During the investigation, Mr Williams was interviewed and was the only passenger in the vehicle who was able to give evidence during the investigation. He said the friends were returning from a workers’ club after Williams’ father’s funeral earlier in the day.

He testified that Mr Owen owned a black Audi vehicle with a private number plate, and added that he often traveled in the vehicle and had never had any concerns about Mr Owen’s driving style. Williams explained that he believes Owen is “the safest driver of all of us.”

However, in the evening, as the teenagers were returning from the Tonyrefail men’s club, Williams said he heard a “woah” gasp as the vehicle lost control on a curve before colliding with the bus. He said he was in the front passenger seat and remembered the other four sitting in the back of the vehicle.

He said the vehicle was too small for everyone to sit properly and the four rear passengers had to be on top of each other. “Jesse drove past the elementary school school and next to the Coedely pub. I thought he was going fast, but I wasn’t worried,” he said. But later in the trip, Williams recalled, “I heard Sam say ‘woah’ before the turn.” I looked to my right and saw Jesse looking scared.