A driver lost control of a sports car and slammed into an oncoming vehicle killing his passenger and friend almost instantly, a court has heard. The car Matthew Roberts collided with contained a couple an their baby, and while the mother suffered serious injuries including a fractured spin the infant was unhurt.
Despite a comprehensive police investigation - which included sending electronic components from the car back to the manufacturer in Japan to be analysed - It's not known why Matthew Roberts lost control of the Mazda, but it is believed speed and the wet road surface both played a part.
The mother of the deceased said the family did not blame Roberts for the "sad accident" and asked the court not to punish him, saying "We have all lost as a result of this tragic incident". However a judge said he had a public duty to perform, and the offending was so serious only immediate custody was appropriate. He also said drivers need to be reminded that when they get behind the wheel they are taking not just their own life in their hands but the lives of others too.
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James Hartson, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that the collision happened on the evening of October 20, 2021, on the road between Cimla in Neath and Pontrhydyfen and the Afan Valley. He said 29-year-old Roberts was at the wheel of his friend Christopher Howells' Mazda MX5 that night, and his friend was in the passenger seat alongside him. The court heard the Mazda was driving up the hill out of Pontrhydyfen and towards Cimla when, just after negotiating a bend, Roberts lost control and the vehicle veered across the carriageway straight into the path of an oncoming Ford Fiesta containing a couple and their baby daughter. The Fiesta had no opportunity to brake and slammed into the passenger side of the Mazda leading to a massive damage to the sports car and causing catastrophic and fatal injuries to 22-year-old Mr Howells.
Emergency services were soon on the scene and found the near-side side of the Mazda had been "folded in around the passenger". The court heard the casualty had no pulse and was not breathing, and was in cardiac arrest. The injuries were described as being "incompatible with life" and the Cimla-man was pronounced dead at the scene by the senior paramedic. Both Roberts and the mother who had been travelling in the Fiesta were taken to hospital, and the court heard the mum suffered substantial abdominal bruising, internal bleeding, fluid in the pelvis, and a fractured lower vertebrae. She was left needing a back brace and being unable to pick up her daughter. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here
Crash investigators examined both vehicles involved in the collision and found no defects on either. The court heard it had not been possible to establish how quickly the cars had been travelling at the time of the collision, and it had not been possible to retrieve any data from the Mazda's air bag's electronics module despite the unit being sent back to Japan for analysis. However, the investigator calculated that the maximum theoretical speed at which a car could safely negotiate the bend immediate prior to the collision point was between 53mph and 57mph, and the court heard it was it was likely that if a vehicle was travelling below that speed then control would not have been lost. The investigator also noted the road was wet following rain, and concluded that the cause of the crash was the nature of the bend, the driving surface, and the manner in which the rear-wheel drive Mazda had been driven.
The court also heard analysis of Roberts' mobile phone showed he had sent a text message to a friend at 7.31pm which was some two minutes and 10 seconds before a 999 call had been made from a motorist at the scene of the collision. A reply had been received on Roberts' mobile at 7.33pm - some 81 seconds before the 999 call - but it is not known if the defendant had read the message.
In his interview Roberts told police that Mr Howells had asked him if he wanted to take his car for a "little drive" and, as he had had never driven the Mazda before, he said he had agreed. He told officers he remembered "dropping down" from fourth to third gear as he climbed the hill out of Pontrhydyfen and said the rear of the car began to "slide". He said the next thing he remembered was seeing air bags and then talking to people at the roadside following the collision. He tested negative for the presence of alcohol or drugs in his system. The court heard Roberts denied he was using or was distracted by his phone at the time, and he told officers he had pulled over into a layby to send the last outgoing message on his mobile. Mr Hartson said the Crown was not able to disprove the defendant's version of events around the use of his phone.
In a statement from Mr Howells' mother which was read to the court she said the family missed Mr Howells so much, and said the pain of losing her son was still "raw". She said she didn't blame Roberts for the "sad accident" and she wanted the court to know that she didn't want the defendant punished. The mother asked the court to deal with Roberts as leniently as possible, adding: "We have all lost as a result of this tragic incident".
Matthew Liam Roberts, of Pelenna Close, Tonmawr, Neath Port Talbot, had previously pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has one previous conviction for one offence of driving without due care and attention for which he was fined £40 just six days before the fatal crash.
David Singh, for Roberts, said the defendant had lost his close friend in the collision, something he would have to live with for the rest of this life. He said his client "bitterly regrets" what happened on the night in question, and recognises how lives have been "devastated". He added that the mother of the deceased had shown "remarkable grace and understanding" in her statement.
Judge Geraint Walters said but for pure luck the crash caused by Roberts could have claimed more lives, including that of the baby in the Ford Fiesta. He said the reality was "any one of us" could have been in the other vehicle involved in the collision, and he said drivers need to remember that when they get behind the wheel they take not only their own life but the lives of others in their hands. He said he was satisfied that speed and the defendant's focus "not being wholly on the road as it should have been" were factors in the collision.
The judge said the statement from the deceased's mother was "remarkable and powerful" and must have taken a great deal of courage to write, and he said he meant no disrespect when he said the collision had not been an "accident" but had been caused by the defendant's driving. He said he was mindful of the mother's words but said he had a public duty to perform and the case was too serious for a sentence other than one of immediate custody.
Judge Walters said the sentencing range on the guidelines was between six months and three years in prison, and the appropriate sentence after trial in the case would have been one of 12 months. With a one-quarter discount for his guilty plea Roberts was sentenced to nine months in prison. The defendant will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Roberts was disqualified from driving for two years with the ban extended by an extra four-and-a-half months to account for the time he will be behind bars.
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Clarification: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that: 'Howells lost control and the vehicle veered across the carriageway straight into the path of an oncoming Ford Fiesta containing a couple and their baby daughter.' In fact it was Matthew Liam Roberts, of Pelenna Close, Tonmawr, that was driving the vehicle and Mr Howells was his passenger who tragically suffered fatal injuries from the incident. We sincerely apologise to Mr Howells' family for this error.
