Drink-driver high on cannabis and double legal limit drinks can of cider at wheel before fatal crash
Watch as drink-driver high on cannabis and double legal limit drinks can of cider while at the wheel minutes before horror crash that killed passenger
- Ricky Davies, 30, drank cider at the wheel while high on cannabis
- He caused a crash in which his 18-year-old passenger Dafydd Hughes was killed
A killer driver who crashed after downing a can of cider at the wheel while high on cannabis resulting in the death of his friend has been jailed for eight years.
A court heard that uninsured Ricky Davies, 30, downed the cider with one hand while holding the steering wheel whilst also high on the drug during a drive in Monmouthshire last year.
Davies was caught on camera just before his friend Dafydd Hughes, 18, was killed in the crash on their way to a dog show.
Cardiff Crown Court heard the pair and another friend were going to the dog show – but Davies was drunk after an all-night party.
Mr Hughes suffered catastrophic head injuries and died at the scene of the crash after Davies smashed into another car.
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Ricky Davies, 30, has been jailed for eight years for his ‘horrendous’ driving
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Dafydd Hughes suffered catastrophic head injuries in the crash
Davies, who didn’t have a driving licence also suffered ‘serious injuries’ and was later found to be double the drink drive limit with cannabis in his system.
Davies was seen on CCTV buying cider from a shop and then filmed downing it at the wheel.
Prosecutor Matthew Cobbe said Davies was described as ‘blotto’ after a house party the night before.
The pair and fellow friend Dylan Powell were heading to a dog show when the crash happened at Shirenewton, Monmouthshire, in May last year.
Snapchat videos showed Davies clearly intoxicated while driving and was holding a can of cider behind the wheel.
Cardiff Crown Court heard he and his passenger are shouting and listening to loud music as they filmed themselves.
Mr Cobbe described Davies’ driving as ‘horrendous’.
Mr Cobbe said: ‘Nobody was wearing a seat belt and the defendant’s driving was worse than before, driving too quickly and going round bends far too quickly. Dylan Powell asked him to slow down but his was involved in three episodes of dangerous overtaking.’
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CCTV footage showed Davies buying cider from a shop
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Police found that he was double the drink drive limit and had cannabis in his system
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Shocking video shows Davies drinking the can of cider at the wheel
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Minutes after the clip, Davies was involved in a high speed crash that left him with serious injuries and killed Dafydd Hughes
His Ford Focus crashed into another car coming in the opposite direction.
Marian Lewis, defending, said: ‘The victim was a very close friend of his.’
Mr Hughes’ mother Emma Hughes, of Caerphilly, said: ‘It didn’t seem real, I felt numb and empty and didn’t want to believe it. I went to the Grange Hospital and it wasn’t until I saw him in the mortuary I realised he was dead. No parent should have to see their child like that or have to identify their baby.’
Davies admitted causing the death by dangerous driving of Dafydd in his car in Shirenewton, Monmouthshire, in May.
Davies also admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, dangerous driving, drink driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence in a Ford Focus.
Judge Tracey Lloyd Clarke sentenced Davies, of Rhymney, Caerphilly, to eight years in prison and disqualified from driving for 12 years.
She said: ‘Your actions caused immeasurable pain and life long suffering to many people, most severely his family.
‘No sentence passed by this court will adequately reflect the harm you have done and the grief you have caused. Dafydd Hughes was 18-years-old, his life was incalculable.
‘You have caused immense distress to a close knit family. Their grief will last forever. Your driving that day was truly appalling. Those that saw your driving knew a serious accident was inevitable and it was, causing the death of a young person.’