Teen trio killed on means residence from occasion after new driver crashed into tree
Driver Dafydd Huw Craven-Jones lost control over a humpback bridge and crashed into a tree killing two of his friends and injuring another, an inquest has found
A group of teenagers died after the driver lost control of his car and crashed into a tree – with two of them not wearing their seatbelts properly, an inquest has heard today (Weds).
Dafydd Huw Craven-Jones, 18, had passed his test less than six months before the tragic accident when he was killed alongside two friends he had picked up from a house party. Dafydd, from Tanyfron in Wales, lost control of his Ford Ka on a humpback bridge in Penkridge, Staffordshire, at 11.47pm on May 25 last year.
Morgan Jones, 17, and Sophie Bates, 17, also died, while Brooke Varley, also 17 at the time, survived. Stafford Coroners’ Court heard Dafydd had picked up Morgan from the party because he had not been feeling well and Sophie and Brooke had got in the back to go for a drive.
Dafydd didn’t know the roads in the area and, when he steered his car “at speed” over a humpback bridge on the B5012, he lost control of the vehicle. The car hit a tree after mounting a grass verge and travelling to the other side of the road, the inquest heard.
At the time of the collision neither Sophie nor Brooke were wearing seatbelts on the 60mph road. Morgan was sat on the lap belt in the front passenger seat and was only wearing the shoulder strap.
From videos taken by Sophie that were recovered afterwards, it appeared she was sitting in the middle seat in the back of the car.
The inquest heard Dafydd, who had gained his licence at the end of November 2023, had earlier taken a video of himself saying he feared he had been caught speeding at 90mph on a 70mph road. There was nothing to suggest Dafydd had been using his phone at the time of the crash and he had no drink or drugs in his body.
Tragically Morgan suffered a severe head injury in the crash while Dafydd had multiple injuries. Both were pronounced dead at the scene just after midnight on May 26. Sophie suffered a traumatic brain injury and died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital on May 28, two days later.
In a statement to the inquest, Brooke said she did not wear her seatbelt when she got in Dafydd’s car because it was “dark and she could not see it”, but she regretted not doing so.
She told of a “rollercoaster feeling in my tummy” before the car swerved and she lost consciousness. She also said she had asked Dafydd to slow down as she felt “scared” at the speed he was driving.
She added: “Sophie was the kindest person who lived her life to the fullest. She is my inspiration to get better and do everything she didn’t get a chance to do. She will forever be in my heart.
“Morgan was one of the funniest people I know. He was always respectful, kind and sweet. He always looked out for me. Daf had a kind soul and loved his friends.”
There had been three serious collisions on the same stretch of road since 2017, with another fatality in January, 2024, the inquest heard. Staffordshire County Highways had said it would make changes to the road markings and the signs in the area following the two fatal crashes, but assistant coroner Kelly Dixon said nothing had been done so far which she said was concerning, and that she would issue a prevention of future deaths report to Staffordshire County Highways urging for changes to be made.
Ms Dixon recorded the deaths as being the result of a road traffic collision.
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