A new driver killed himself and two friends after crashing into a bus with such force that his car was “split in half”, an inquest heard.
Jesse Owen, 18, was over the legal drink-drive limit when he got behind the wheel of the Audi A1 with five friends in South Wales on Dec 11.
He crashed the car, which had personalised number plates and blacked-out windows, into a Stagecoach bus as he rounded a corner at speed in Coedely, near Tonyrefail.
Mr Owen was killed alongside Callum Griffiths, 19, a champion boxer, and 18-year-old Morgan Smith. All three died from blunt force injuries.
At Pontypridd coroners’ court on Friday, an inquest into the deaths heard from Mr Owen’s father Justin, who said his son was a relatively new driver.
He said: “We can honestly say he was a safe and careful, considerate driver. Living in a small community, if he was driving anti-socially we would have heard about it. If speed was a factor we would be surprised by that, as Jesse was just not known for driving like that by us or anyone we know.
“We trusted Jesse because we knew him as a person and we knew his character. He was a good person with a kind, generous heart and a loyal friend.”
He said his son “only ever drank occasionally and was not a big drinker”.
The inquest heard that the six friends had been to a funeral for the father of Ellis Williams, the front-seat passenger, before going on to a pub and a working men’s club where they drank three pints each.
Mr Williams said in a statement that he remembered Mr Owen driving “fast” before coming to a bend where they saw the bus coming straight towards them.
He said: “I didn’t take much notice of what the boys were drinking because it was my father’s funeral.
“Jesse was going to drive us. He wasn’t going to come out with us as he had work in the morning.
“They were big lads, so they would have been sat on top of each other in the back. I put my belt on, I don’t know if the boys in the back had their seatbelts on. I don’t know if Jesse was wearing a seatbelt. I didn’t take any notice.”
Mr Williams added: “I thought Jesse was going fast, but I didn’t worry. We went around the bend and I heard Sam say ‘woah, woah’ before the bend.
“I didn’t realise what was happening. I looked to my right and I could see Jesse looked scared.
“A car kicked out around the corner and Jesse tried to get back in. We knew we were going to hit the bus – I held the side door. As we hit the bus, Jesse’s side made the first contact. My airbag went off, and I hit my head on it.
“I looked to my right and nobody was sat next to me. I looked behind and none of the boys were there. The car was split in half. It was in two parts. I could hear people screaming. I didn’t see where anyone was thrown.”
The other two survivors were named as Sam Griffiths, 18, and Lucas Vaughan, 19. The inquest continues.
