06 October 2023 , 19:26
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A teenage driver who crashed her car after “clowning around” on a road and killed her best friend had only passed her test a month before, a court heard.
Tayla King lost control on a straight stretch of road and crashed the Citroen C1 down an embankment off the A4067 Swansea Valley road and into a tree, causing catastrophic injuries to her passenger, Chantelle Thomas, 18. Several passing motorists stopped to help - including an off-duty police officer - but Miss Thomas could not be saved and died at the scene.
Ian Wright, prosecuting, said King, then aged 18, had only held a full driving license for 33 days when, on the night of January 22 last year, she drove two friends home. After dropping one of them off, her car later left the road and crashed. The court was told British Transport Police officer Rhys Lewis was driving home at the end of his shift when he was flagged down by King, who told him: "I've crashed and I think I've killed my friend".
Wales Online reported the off-duty officer advised King to sit in the car of another motorist who had stopped at the scene, and the defendant was heard to say "I was speeding and clowning around... going too fast and showing off". The court heard the policeman then went to the crashed car and stayed with the gravely injured passenger, holding her hand until paramedics arrived.
The court heard the manner of King's driving caused concern to her passengers throughout that evening, with the teenager driving at speed, occasionally drifting into the opposite lane, and leaving braking at red traffic lights so late it was feared she would not actually be able to stop in time.
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Mr Wright said the Citroen suffered "extensive damage" in the collision. The prosecutor said Miss Thomas had to be cut from the car by firefighters, and despite the best efforts of paramedics who provided advanced life support, she could not be saved and was pronounced dead at the scene at 2.53am. Her cause of death was later established as multiple injuries including severe brain injuries as a passenger in a road traffic collision.
King was also injured in the smash and spent a week in hospital being treated for a fractured pelvis and collar bone, as well as spleen and kidney injuries. During two subsequent police interviews, she answered "no comment" to all questions asked.
In an impact statement from Miss Thomas' mum Denise read to the court, she described her daughter as her best friend who liked nothing more than catching up with her on the sofa watching a film. She said her daughter had ambitions to be a primary school teacher, and she described the pain and devastation caused to the family by her death.
The court heard a crash investigator had been unable to establish the speed of the Citroen at the time it left the road, and found no evidence of any braking by the driver before the incident. Tayla King, now aged 20, had previously pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving when she appeared in the dock for sentencing. She has no previous convictions.
John Allchurch, for King, said the defendant - who is currently studying at university in Cardiff - and Miss Thomas had been best friends since the age of 11. He said the incident had involved "a young, inexperienced driver driving at speeds she should not have been driving at".
King was sentenced to 14 months detention in a young offenders institution suspended for 12 months, and was also banned from driving for two years and ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work.