Astonishing moment drunk driver flips his car on its side before driving away - as he is jailed for 14 months
Danail Angelov, 20, sent a black Fiat 500 flying when he raced over the speed bump on a quiet residential street in the Blaenymaes area of Swansea, south Wales.
Dramatic footage shows the car become airborne on April 22, as he collided with a silver Ford Puma which narrowly missed a pedestrian amidst the carnage.
The Puma - with a mother and son onboard - was forced off the road and instead slammed into a garden wall.
After ricocheting into a passing white Skoda driven by a taxi driver, the black motor plummeted onto its side before sliding across the road.
When the vehicle landed back on its wheels, the 20-year-old drove away from the dramatic scene.
Angelov was found by police a short time later in an 'agitated' state in a charity shop where he was being shouted at by members of the public.
The 20-year-old who was at the wheel of his uncle's car - which he had taken without consent - was over the drink-drive limit at the time of the crash.
A taxi driver, who was travelling in a white Skoda towards the Fiat 500, later attended hospital for the injuries he sustained during the crash.
Angelov was jailed to 14 months at Swansea Crown Court after police said it was 'miraculous' that no-one was seriously hurt during the incident.
Emily Bennett, prosecuting, told the court that at lunchtime on April 22 this year Angelov was driving a Fiat 500 car on Broughton Avenue, Swansea.
She said he overtook the Ford Puma car in front of him just as a white Skoda taxi was coming in the opposite direction.
She said Angelov drove between the two vehicle and clipped the Puma and was flipped onto two wheels and into the side of the taxi.
Angelov of Swansea pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle-taking, failing to stop after a road accident, drink driving and driving without a license.
He was jailed for 14 months at the city's Crown Court.
Sgt Robert Richards of South Wales Police lambasted the young man for his 'dangerous actions'.
'Danail Angelov could have injured a number of people with his reckless and dangerous actions,' he said.
'The taxi driver, who was just going about his daily business, had to attend hospital to be inspected for whiplash and concussion.
'There was also a child pedestrian walking on the pavement at the time of the collision, and it is a miracle that one of the three vehicles didn't end up striking them and causing them serious injury.
'The fact that he then drove off from the scene is a sad indictment of his character.
'It is only right that he goes to prison.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
14 hours ago
- The Independent
Electric car discounts – no grants yet but VW and Skoda join Volvo, Hyundai and others in offering big discounts
Car makers, it seems, are fed up with waiting for the government's official Electric Car Grants to come through, so are rushing to offer their own EV grants to try and stop customers pausing their purchases. One car company executive, speaking anonymously to The Independent, confirmed that dealers were reporting customers cancelling orders until it was clear which cars were and which cars weren't eligible for grants.. It's nearly three weeks since the government's surprise EV grant went live, yet there are still no cars listed on the official government website as being available with grant money applied to the list price. The electric car grant was announced on Monday 14 July and went live on Wednesday 16 July. Car makers must apply for the grants, which are available on EVs up to the price of £37,000 and where car makers have signed up to low-carbon 'science-based targets' around manufacturing. Grants of between £1,500 and £3,750 will be available for eligible cars. While the announcement of the EV grant has been broadly welcomed by car makers, it took many of them by surprise, with some learning about the government plan via the media. Volkswagen Group brands VW, Skoda and Cupra are the latest car makers to launch 'Grant Guarantee' discount schemes while waiting for news from government. VW is offering £1,500 off selected ID. 3 and ID. 4 all-electric models. 'We welcomed the Government's announcement of its Electric Car Grant and wanted to make sure customers could start benefitting from lower-cost electric motoring as quickly as possible,. We have already seen an uplift in enquiries since the Government's grant was announced, which is great news for Volkswagen's electrification plans,' said Rod McLeod, Director of Volkswagen UK. Skoda is offering the same £1,500 discount across its Elroq and Enyaq model range, but not the Enyaq Coupe, while Cupra is offering the same £1,500 on many of its Cupra Born models. VW, Skoda and Cupra offers apply to cars bought during August and registered for the new 75 registration plate with deliveries starting on September 1. However, VW, Skoda and Cupra have all made it clear that if the government's EV grant comes through, the brands' Grant Guarantee scheme will end – customers won't be able to receive both. Earlier this week, Volvo introduced a discount in lieu of any government grant. with £1,500 off any of the brand's EX30 electric models, even those that cost over the £37,000 limit for government grants. Smart also offered its own 'EV grant' with £1,500 off the whole range of Smart #1 and #3, in addition to existing incentives. That means you could save a total of £3,500 off a Smart #1, for example. Hyundai has its own electric grant, with the biggest discount available on Hyundai's smallest model. The Hyundai Inster – recently voted World Electric Car of the Year – gets a £3,750 'grant' bringing the entry-level car's price down to £19,755. There's still an additional £500 off if you go for Hyundai's low-rate PCP finance, too. The rest of the Hyundai electric car range, including models over £37,000, are also getting a £1,500 discount as part of the offer. Buyers of Chinese-made EVs were also left to reconsider their purchases with news that the government wasn't expecting those models to be eligible for the Electric Car Grant. Speaking on Radio Four, Minister for the Future of Roads, Lilian Greenwood, said 'we don't expect any cars that are assembled in China to be eligible for this scheme. 'The grant is restricted to those manufacturers that reach minimum environmental standards. And, frankly, if you generate a lot of the electricity that powers your factory through coal power stations, then you are not going to be able to access this grant." The Department for Transport told The Independent: 'We expect dozens of models will be eligible but manufacturers will need to apply for the grant before we can confirm eligibility. We have held multiple calls with vehicle manufacturers to explain vehicle eligibility and how to apply for the grant. These discussions will continue to ensure manufacturers have all the information they need. 'All eligible models will be published on once the application has been approved. Applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis and as quickly as possible.' Chinese car brands have been quick to react by introducing their own 'EV grants' to stimulate demand among private buyers. Leapmotor was first out of the blocks with its Leap Grant, offering £1,500 off the Leapmotor T03, making it Britain's cheapest car at £14,495, while the Leapmotor C10 family SUV gets a £3,750 discount, taking the price down to £32,750. MG followed with its own EV grant, offering a discount of £1,500 off the MG4 and MGS5 EVs on top of existing offers, while another Chinese brand, GWM, has taken the full £3,750 off its GWM ORA 03 models with its Green Grant, bringing the starting price down to £21,245. Relatively unknown Chinese brand Skywell is also throwing its own EV grant of £3,750 on top of a £6,000 dealer deposit contribution if you buy the Skywell BE11 on finance. That brings the potential list price down to just £27,245 for the entry-level car. The BE11 is far from the best EV you can buy, but at that price it represents a lot of car for the money. It's not just Chinese brands applying discounts, though. Alfa Romeo is offering £1,500 off its Alfa Junior Elettrica range, on top of existing zero per cent finance offers and the promise of a free EV home charger with standard installation.
Top Gear
15 hours ago
- Top Gear
Ford Puma Gen-E Interior Layout & Technology
Interior What is it like on the inside? The regular Puma was refreshed back in 2024. That brought the new squircle steering wheel seen here, a 12.8in digital instrument display and a 12.0in centre touchscreen, as well as deleting pretty much all the switchgear. The biggest difference is the two-tiered centre console, made possible by the lack of a gear lever and manual handbrake. That allows for more storage, a wireless phone charger and a sliding armrest. At least, if you don't mind sacrificing the rearmost cupholder. There's plenty of large pockets – it's far less poky in here than a Renault 4, for example. Some foam padding where your knees rest would have been nice to cushion out any bumps too. Advertisement - Page continues below Upper spec versions get suede upholstery and B&O speakers, but walking up the trim ladder doesn't add a great deal in the way of materials. Will my technophobe grandma be able to get on with it? Well, the widescreen digital instrument is clear and easy to read, if slightly limited in customisability. And the base colour is brilliant white, which a) looks a touch low rent to us, and b) is a source of glare at night. Ugh. Worse though is that depending on your grandma's driving position, she might find the steering wheel does block the view of the display somewhat. In the centre of the dashboard the high-def infotainment display boasts Ford's latest SYNC 4 system, complete with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus built-in Alexa. So yeah, it's big, meaning she shouldn't have a problem seeing it. We've found it to be laggy though, which might put off younger, less patient generations of driver. Advertisement - Page continues below Will she be able to fit the grandkids in at least? Depends how old the grandkids are. While space is fine up front, in the rear the position of the battery underneath the floor means any lankier teens might find their legs up by their ears. Headroom feels adequate, at least. But the Gen-E's real trump card is its boot, with up to 523 litres making it even bigger than that of the standard Puma. Ford's 'MegaBox' (the deep rubber-lined tub that sits below the boot floor, complete with plughole that allows you to jetwash it out) having morphed into a 'GigaBox'. More room for dirty wellies. Fold the seats down and you get 1,283 litres of space, and if you're still lacking room for gubbins there's always a 43-litre frunk to chuck anything extra in too. Though, we reckon that's best kept for storing and accessing any dirty charging cables.
The Independent
21 hours ago
- The Independent
Skoda teases Vision O concept car
Skoda has given the biggest clues yet to an electric future for the much-loved Skoda Octavia – just as The Independent revealed a month ago. The new Skoda Vision O concept car, set to be unveiled at the Munich Motor Show on September 8, will be a thinly disguised look at the next generation of Octavia, that's set to go electric. Speaking to The Independent in July, Skoda CEO Klaus Zellmer said, 'I'm really looking forward to sharing our Octavia concept car that will give a glimpse of what we see the next level of our design strategy will look like. 'From my point of view, it is going to create a lot of buzz and controversial discussion because the design is very much the way forward. The car is clearly recognisable as a Skoda, because it's a further step of our modern solid design language that we have established and now fully introduced with the Elroq. But it's another step.' Zellmer also also confirmed that the concept would be electric. While Skoda says that the name Vision O is 'derived from the concept of circularity' it's clear from the shape of the car in the first teaser image to be released, that the car is every inch an Octavia, still one of the brand's biggest-selling models. The concept previewed in the line drawing in our image is officially a sneak peek into the future of Skoda in the estate segment and will show an evolution of Skoda's Modern Solid design language Speaking about the concept Klaus Zellmer said, " The Skoda Vision O design study will highlight the future trajectory of estate models under the influence of new technologies, sustainability, and the deep experience of Skoda Auto in this segment. This will be one of our most significant steps in developing and evolving our design language even further for this period of transition in the automotive industry. 'It will position us to remain a major player in the estate segment, where Skoda Auto has been engaged since the 1920s. We are excited to present this concept to the world in early September 2025, marking a new era for Skoda Auto." The Skoda Octavia estate was first introduced in 1960, with more than 3 million versions of the modern-day Octavia Estate produced over four generations since 1998, making it also the best-selling estate model in Škoda history. When the new Octavia arrives, possibly in 2027 after Skoda has launched its Epiq small electric SUV and Space BEV – Skoda-speak for the as yet unnamed production version of its flagship Vision 7S electric concept – it's likely to use the latest platform technology from the Volkswagen Group called SSP or Scalable Systems Platform. SSP is set to replace Volkswagen's first-generation all-electric MEB platform and will eventually underpin everything from the smallest city car to the largest SUV across the whole Group. Crucially, it brings major leaps in software, paving the way for autonomous tech that you won't currently find on any Skoda or other Group model.
