Swindon teen's 'astonishing' driving led to Powys crash

Wesley Newman was 19 when his "brief but highly dangerous" manoeuvre caused the collision between Sarn and Kerry, near Newtown which left a woman in hospital for three days and unable to see her mother before she died.

The recorder said that although it was a one-off incident and the young Swindon man had shown genuine remorse, it was an "astonishing" example of driving that was "borne out of frustration" by the inexperienced young driver.

Newman, who has nerve and muscle damage meaning he needs to use a wheelchair, was sentenced to 10 months in prison which is suspended for 18 months because the recorder said an immediate jail sentence would "undoubtedly" impact his health and future job prospects.

Swansea Crown Court heard that a jury found Newman guilty of dangerous driving and the way he drove the white Seat Arona was "far below" the standard that would be expected from a careful and competent driver following a trial which the 21-year-old claimed, and continues to maintain, that he had "blacked out" and lost control of the vehicle before causing the crash.

Newman, who will be turning 22 next month, was driving from his home in Swindon to Aberdyfi when he caused the crash along the A489 between Sarn and Kerry shortly after midday on Mother's Day - Sunday, March 22, 2020 - which was also the day before Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the first Covid lockdown.

The A489 between Sarn and Kerry

Shortly after leaving Sarn, Newman crashed into an oncoming Vauxhall Mocha car after he pulled out and overtook a green Citroen car as he approached a right-hand bend, on which drivers would not be able to see oncoming vehicles.

The female passenger inside the Vauxhall had to be cut from the vehicle and spent three days in hospital after fracturing her leg. The court heard that because of the crash she was unable to see her mother during her final days. Her husband, the car's driver, suffered a fractured vertebrae, and Newman injured his pelvis.

Simon Mills, acting for Newman, told the court: "He's a hardworking young man who I'm told will lose his job if he goes to prison today. He is not a person who needs rehabilitating in the sense he doesn't have criminal attitudes that need to be addressed.

"It looks a very bad piece of driving as the jury found it to be was a serious one-off and he is going to be paying for what he did for the long-term because he has given up his driving licence. There's no realistic prospect he will be asking for it back even after a period of disqualification, but that could change, as life does, but it is a hell of a thing for a 21-year-old man with mobility problems to do.

"He maintains his position at the trial but he's never said anything disrespectful about the victims."

Recorder Owen-Casey told Newman: "This was a predetermined manoeuvre prepared without a thought for the potential consequences.

"This was borne by your frustration and you no longer wanted to remain behind a slower vehicle.

"There is nothing to suggest you were anything but concious. It was an astonishing piece of driving that had a high likelihood of a head-on collision."

Newman, of Park North, Swindon, was disqualified from driving for two years and ordered to pay a £400 and £140 victim surcharge.