Car broke in half in fatal crash, inquest hears

The car three teenagers were in when they died in a crash split in half in the collision, an inquest has heard.

The incident occurred on December 11, 2023, when an Audi A1 collided with a bus in Coedely, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Morgan Smith, 18, Callum Griffiths, 19, and Jesse Owen, 18, were each thrown from the car and died as a result of “blunt injuries” they sustained.

The investigation revealed that Jesse Owen, who was driving the car, was over the drink driving limit.

Several witnesses described the car as being traveling at high speeds before the accident, the investigation heard.

Ellis Williams, who was in the passenger seat, was the only “walking, wounded” survivor of the crash.

Two others suffered life-changing injuries.

In a statement, Ellis told the court that he heard others in the car telling Jesse to slow down.

He said that shortly before the crash, “I thought we were going fast. I heard someone say, 'Woh, woh, woh'.”

He told the inquest he looked up and saw “Jesse looked frightened”.

After the accident, he said he looked to his right and saw the driver's seat was empty. He added: “The car was broken in two.”

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

Toxicology tests revealed that Jesse Owen had 113 mg of alcohol per 100 ml in his blood. The legal limit is 80 mg per 100 ml.

Ellis Williams said it was the day of his father's funeral and they had come from the wake after the funeral.

The group had initially been to a pub before moving on to the Tonyrefail workers' club, where witnesses said each of them had bought drinks.

A bar employee 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 would go to either Coedely or Cardiff.

He said: “We saw them leaving as a group and within a few minutes I heard there had been an accident in the Coedely area.”

The court heard Jesse would not stay out with the group but would only drive them to Cardiff because he had work in the morning.

A witness, Martin Russell, told the inquest he was waiting to pull off at an intersection and saw the Audi A1 drive past “at high speed”.

He said the road had a speed limit of 20 miles per hour and the car was traveling “exceptionally fast,” estimating the speed at about 50 to 60 miles per hour (80 to 97 km/h).

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone drive so fast on this road,” he said.

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

He said he recognized the car as belonging to his friend's son and saw “a lot of heads” in the car.

He said that because of the speed at which it was traveling, it had to “go over the chevrons in the middle of the road to hold the line.”

The court heard it was dark and raining, but it wasn't raining at the time the Audi was driving.

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

They said they impressed upon him the importance of not drinking and driving and that he had “neither been a risk-taker nor reckless in his life.”

Callum was described as a “talented kickboxer” who had “found his calling as a hairdresser”.

Morgan was described as a “talented boxer” by his mother in a statement.

The court was shown CCTV images of the teenagers leaving the workers' club together, as well as images of the car at various locations along its journey.

The investigation continues.