His 'utterly appalling' driving caused the death of his long-term partner

Wales Online

9 hours ago

His 'utterly appalling' driving caused the death of his long-term partner
Jack Llewellyn, 25, was nearly killed himself after losing control of his car and smashing sideways into an oncoming vehicle
Jack Llewellyn caused the death of his partner Nicholas Page and left a five-year-old child with a permanent scar following a collision
(Image: Gwent Police )
A driver killed his long-term partner and left a five-year-old child with a permanent scar to his face after an "utterly appalling piece of driving" led to a crash. He lost control of his vehicle and collided into a car driven by a pregnant woman, whose children were in her car, which caused the death of his front seat passenger.
Jack Llewellyn, 25, smashed his black Skoda Octavia into a silver Ford C-Max after "weaving" in and out of traffic before swerving. The collision, on Greenforge Way, Cwmbran, resulted in the passenger side of the defendant's car being decimated and his passenger Nicholas Page being killed.
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A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard the five-year-old's mother was driving on Greenforge Way on March 30, 2023, with her two young children in the back. She was seven-months pregnant at the time. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter.
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She spotted Llewellyn's car speeding up the hill and swerving out to overtake another car, before losing control and swerving in and out towards her vehicle.
The side of the Skoda hit the Ford straight on with such force it caused it to spin and face the opposite way, while the Skoda faced back the way it had come.
The mother looked back and saw a "massive laceration" to her five-year-old son's forehead and he was covered in blood, while her other son suffered a friction burn.
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Witness Colin Pilot described seeing Llewellyn's car passing him at speed and undertaking a Seat Ibiza before attempting to overtake another vehicle and losing control.
Mr Pilot said the back of the defendant's car swerved to the right, and as Llewellyn tried to correct this, the car spun sideways and struck the Ford. Prosecutor Matthew Roberts said the car was "zig zagging" at this point.
Brian Pilot, a passenger in his son's car, said he formed the view Llewellyn's car was "racing" with a blue Skoda as they were driving at speed and performing overtaking and undertaking manoeuvres. The driver of the blue Skoda was found to be moving a friend's possessions along with the defendant.
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Brenda Gwilym said she saw Llewellyn's car overtaking at speed and it began to come into her lane. She thought the black Skoda had hit her and made attempts to avoid it. The witness then heard a "horrendous noise" behind her and saw the defendant's car colliding with a silver car.
Mr Roberts said: "This was an utterly appalling piece of driving, weaving in and out of traffic on the wrong side of the road."
The police were called by members of the public who ran to assist the occupants of the two cars.
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Upon attending the scene, the first responders found Llewellyn unresponsive, bent over and making gurgling sounds while Mr Page was not making any noise and had blood on his trousers and in his ears.
Paramedics were unable to find a pulse and Mr Page was declared dead at the scene.
The five-year-old victim was taken to hospital and suffered a 12cm to 15cm laceration to the left side of his forehead, with the "skin torn away from underlying structures". The boy now has a permanent scar to the entirety of his upper forehead which will require treatment indefinitely.
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Llewellyn was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries and was in a critical condition, with medical professionals initially believing he had a slim chance of survival.
The defendant was fit enough to be interviewed in August, 2024, and while he admitted being the driver of the car, he said he had no recollection of the collision, but claimed he was not responsible for causing Mr Page's death.
Llewellyn, of Park Crescent, Abergavenny, later pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The court heard he had one caution for a fraud offence.
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In a victim personal statement read to the court by Mr Robets, Mr Page's stepmother Julia Collins said: "Mike (Mr Page's father) was a proud father of Nick and raised him single handedly from the age of 13.... We have an awful feeling of sadness and total disbelief thinking about it. Trying to cope with his passing and the traumatic way he died is impossible to bear.
"Mike and I struggle to come to terms with what happened and the way it happened. It still haunts Mike and I, thinking about his final thoughts and what he was thinking and feeling, which causes us a great deal of stress. When I heard about his injuries it haunts me and causes me distress."
Ms Collins said her husband and his son were not on speaking terms at the time of Mr Page's death, and said her husband never had the chance to reconcile with him. She added: "Our only comfort is Nick was with Jack at the time and we knew he truly loved him. Nick's death has had a profound effect on Mike and every day we miss him. He will forever be in our thoughts."
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In her statement, the five-year-old's mother said the events of the collision were "etched" in her memories and those of her children.
She added: "At the time of the collision I was pregnant and feared I would lose my baby. I have travel anxiety, constant back issues and ringing in my left ear. I have poor sleep, nightmares and headaches....
"(My son) suffers with being in the car and travel anxiety, has constant nightmares and is angry and frustrated about the crash and the scar across his forehead. He has low self esteem due to the scar and does not want it on show. He is very frustrated he has to have the scar forever and it won't go. He has counselling and support in school.
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"This was no fault of our own, we were travelling on the correct side of the road when the collision occurred."
In mitigation, Sol Hartley said his client was "utterly devastated" by the harm and devastation he caused and is "utterly sorry" for what he did.
The barrister said the defendant's driving was not "prolonged or persistent" and said there was no evidence of racing.
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He said Llewellyn suffered a brain injury, a bruised heart, a torn lung and a fractured hip, and had been placed in a coma in hospital. Mr Hartley said the defendant has no prospect of making a full recovery and can only walk a few steps with the aid of a walking frame.
Sentencing, Judge Simon Mills said he had watched footage of the collision with a "mounting sense of horror". He paid tribute to the courage of the paramedics, police officers and members of the fire brigade who attended the scene of the crash.
Judge Mills said he could not be sure the black Skoda driven by Llewellyn and the blue Skoda were racing.
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The judge said no sentence could put right the death of Mr Page or the injuries caused to the five-year-old victim.
Llewellyn was sentenced to a total of six years imprisonment, of which he will serve two thirds in custody before he is released to serve the remainder on licence.
The defendant was disqualified from driving for 10 years upon his release from prison.
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