Van driver killed in head-on crash was over limit

A DRIVER who was over the drink-drive limit and not wearing a seatbelt died after crashing his van into an oncoming car on a rural road in Carmarthenshire, an inquest heard.

Fraser Lloyd Parry, who was 32 and from Cwrtnewydd near Llanybydder, was travelling along the B4336 near the village of Llanllwni in a white Vauxhall Combo van on the evening of Friday, November 17 last year.

At around 9.53pm, his van was involved in a serious crash with a Ford Fiesta which was travelling in the opposite direction.

Emergency services were called to the scene and Mr Parry was found unconscious in his van before later being pronounced dead as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. Four females who were travelling in the Ford Fiesta all sustained serious injuries, including the driver, who had to be cut out of the car.

A third vehicle, a silver grey BMW, which Mr Parry was following in the lead-up to the crash, also came to a stop, although the driver was uninjured.

An inquest into Mr Parry’s death, held at Llanelli Town Hall on Friday, heard there was a “substantial impact” between the Vauxhall and the Ford and that Mr Parry died from “internal injuries” sustained in the collision.

Speaking at the inquest, the investigating officer in the case, Sergeant Gareth James of Dyed-powys Police, said both vehicles had rotated on the road as a result of the crash, which, according to his investigation, happened on a “very wet” evening and on a “slight bend”.

He said when he arrived at the scene “it was raining heavily with high winds” and there were “scattered leaves” on the road.

Sergeant James told the inquest that an investigation found there were no defects with the vehicles involved and no suggestion of any medical cause being to blame.

He also said the investigation was unable to determine at what speeds any of the vehicles involved were travelling at.

He did reference a toxicology report by a Dr Murphy which showed Mr Parry had an alcohol reading of 240 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood – the legal limit is 80 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood.

Sergeant James said it was his finding that the Vauxhall van had “veered over into the lane of the oncoming Ford Fiesta” and that Mr Parry was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the fatal crash.

Evidence showed that the four females travelling in the Ford Fiesta were wearing seatbelts at the time of impact.

Paul Bennett, the acting senior coroner for Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, read from the toxicology report which found “evidence of recent consumption of alcohol” on Mr Parry’s part, although he added that it could not be determined if the fatal crash was caused by this.

Concluding the inquest, Mr Bennett said: “On November 17, 2023 a collision occurred between a Vauxhall van and a Ford Fiesta car. The van was being driven by Fraser Lloyd Parry. Just outside Llanllwni a manoeuvre was undertaken by Mr Parry which brought his vehicle into contact with the Ford Fiesta.

“It is not entirely clear to me why that manoeuvre was undertaken. In the circumstances I am going to make the following findings: He [Mr Parry] died as a result of internal injuries whilst driving a car which came into contact with an oncoming vehicle.”

Mr Bennett offered his sincere condolences to the family of Mr Parry – many of whom were present at the inquest – and to the other families affected by the fatal collision.

He officially recorded a conclusion of road traffic collision as the cause of Mr Parry’s death.