Drivers convicted following fatal head-on accident
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III Two drivers employed by Llanrwst, North Wales-based Cawley Bros have been convicted at Chester Crown Court of dangerous driving and causing death by dangerous driving following a fatal accident.
Driver Cyril Jones, of Trem Arfon, Llanrwst, pleaded not guilty to causing the death of 76year-old retired farmer Llewelyn Jones during a tailgating incident in March last year.
Driver David Owen, of Abergele Road, Llanrwst, pleaded not guilty to a charge of dangerous driving arising out of the same incident.
The court was told that on 11 March last year Llewelyn Jones had been driving along the A470 Llanrwst to Betws-y-Coed road when his car was hit head-on by Cyril Jones's "speeding wagon".
One of the two lorries involved had broken down and the second had been sent out to recover it. The two vehicles were travelling back to Llanrwst behind a Ford Orion when the accident happened. The car stopped to turn
right, and although the lorry driven by Owen managed to stop, Cyril Jones' vehicle, which was travelling too close behind, was forced on to the opposite side of the road and into the path of Llewelyn Jones' Volvo. The impact was so severe that Cyril Jones' lorry spun through 1800.
Llewelyn Jones was trapped in the wreckage of his car and died in hospital the following day.
Owen admitted braking hard but said that at no time did he lose control of his wagon. He was never worried that he would not be able to stop in time or that Cyril Jones was driving too close behind him.
The jury found both men guilty. Cyril Jones was remanded on bail for pre-sentence social inquiry reports.
Fining Owen £250, disqualifying him from driving for three months and imposing six penalty points on his driving licence, Judge David Hale said that when driving a large wagon a driver had the potential to cause a lot of damage. This was a serious matter and he suspected that Owen felt some personal responsibility.