Police made ‘desperate’ attempts to save pregnant mum in M4 crash
Craig Scott, 51, denies driving dangerously in crash which killed mum and unborn child
POLICE officers passing the scene of a horror crash on the M4 motorway which claimed the life of a heavily pregnant Bridgend woman made “desperate” attempts to save her, a court as heard.
Three South Wales Police vans heading from Swansea to Cardiff arrived at the scene just moments after the smash which killed Rebecca Evans and her unborn child.
Officers rushed across the carriageway and managed to free Ms Evans from the wreckage, but she could not be saved.
The dramatic intervention of the officers was revealed on the second day of the trial of Craig John Scott from Cardiff.
Scott has admitted causing the death of Ms Evans by careless driving, but denies the more serious charge of causing her death by dangerous driving, as well as causing injury by dangerous driving.
The 51-year-old was driving to work on the eastbound carriageway of the M4 near Margam when he crashed into the back of Ms Evans’ Peugeot car, which was stationary in traffic.
Ms Evans, from Bridgend, suffered catastrophic injuries in the collision and died at the roadside; her young son, Cian, who was in a child seat in the rear suffered leg and head injuries but survived. Her partner, Alex, who was driving the car suffered minor injuries.
Swansea Crown Court heard evidence from South Wales Police officers who had been travelling along the M4 at the time of the crash.
The policemen and women, made up of a police support unit - officers specially trained in dealing with public order situations - which was heading in a convoy of three vans from Swansea to Cardiff for a day of training at the Principality Stadium.
Catherine Richards, for the prosecution, read out a series of statements from the officers which described how they arrived at the M4 Margam junction just moments after the smash had happened in the opposite carriageway. They parked their vans in the hard shoulder, and dashed across the central reservation to try to help.
Inspector Timothy Hopkins described seeing 27-year-old Ms Evans sat “unresponsive” in the passenger seat of the damaged Peugeot, her face pale and with no signs of breathing. In the back of the car was an injured child in a car seat.
He described how officers smashed the passenger window to try to get to Miss Evans. They managed to force the doors open and, following advice from paramedics, got the heavily pregnant Miss Evans out of the vehicle and began CPR.
PC Craig Hughes described how he tried to comfort the screaming and injured Cian who was trapped in the back, holding his hand and talking to him, and placing a jacket over him to keep him warm.
PC Samantha Phillips described how she saw her colleagues “desperately” trying to open the Peugeot’s passenger door, borrowing a crow bar from a nearby van to help in the efforts. In her statement the PC described how she held up a borrowed dust sheet to try to screen Ms Evans as she lay on the carriageway.
It is the prosecution case that Scott was “dangerously distracted” when he failed to stop in time, and ploughed into the back of the Peugeot. Opening the case for the prosecution on Day One of the trial on Monday, Ms Richards said: “The defendant accepts as a result of his driving Rebecca Evans lost her life and her son Cian was seriously injured.
“He accepts the collision was his fault and accepts he was driving carelessly, but denies his driving amounted to dangerous driving and that it fell far below what was expected of a competnt driver.”
Ms Richards said Cian had been airlifted to the University of Wales Hospital shortly after the incident, with bleeding between the brain and skull, a skull fracture and leg fractures.
She also said Scott claimed he had made a hands free phone call to his workplace around four or five minutes before the collision, but evidence would be presented to the jury that suggested he had been on the phone for between 14 and 34 seconds prior to the collision.
She added: “The prosecution says the defendant was being dangerous not just careless as he asserts.
“Unlike other drivers he failed to see the stationary vehicles, hazard warnings and was driving too fast.”
Ms Richards also read a statement to the court by Alex Evans, which he had given to police following the accident.
In it, Mr Evans said he and his partner were very familiar with driving that stretch of road, and shortly before the collision he had seen cars slowing down in front of him. He said in his statement: “I came to slow down and then to a stop. I put my hazard lights on. Rebecca was looking down at her phone, oblivious to what was going on.
“I was checking behind me as I always do. I think I said something like ‘he is coming a bit fast’.
“I don’t think Rebecca had time to look up. There was suddenly a bang, and chaos. Just chaos.
“I got out and saw people pulling at her car door. I saw them pull her from the car and blood on her dress and I knew then my daughter had gone.
“But never in a million years did I think I would lose Rebecca.”
The family had been on their way to the service station in Penllergaer in order to to meet Rebecca’s mother, who was to have taken care of their son for the day before they went to work with homeless charity Shelter Cymru.
A series of witnesses described driving conditions that day as being good, with a sunny morning and clear visibility.
LGV driver Shaun Reede, who witnessed the incident, told the court he had a ‘ sixth sense’ Scott was going to drive into the back of the Evans’ vehicle because he didn’t appear like he was going to slow down, despite the Evans’ Peugeot having its hazard lights on.
And BT engineer John Mayer, who also witnessed the collision, gave evidence from the dock.
Struggling to contain his emotions, he said: “The traffic was building up in the outside lane.
“I saw the BMW [driven by Scott] overtake me. It was just carrying on and not slowing down at all.
“He went past me and I thought he was getting a bit close to other cars and no lights [of his vehicle] were coming on.
“I thought it is not going to stop, and unfortunately it did not.”
Scott, of Armoury Drive, Heath, Cardiff, denied causing death by dangerous driving and causing injury by dangerous driving.
The trial continues.