‘The whole day is a blur’, court told
A man accused of causing the death of his step-son by driving dangerously “genuinely believed” he was tall enough not to need a booster seat, a court heard.
Dean Collins, 23, denies causing the death of five-year-old Joseph Smith by dangerous driving and is on trial at Cardiff Crown Court.
Giving evidence, the defendant said Joseph did not like using a booster seat, adding: “I genuinely thought he was tall enough.”
Collins, from Coleford Drive in St Mellons, Cardiff, said he could not remember the collision, which occurred on Western Avenue in Cardiff on September 13, 2015.
Asked about his recollection of the incident, he said: “I can remember waking up in the car.
“I looked down and I remember seeing my leg sort of bent.”
He added: “I remember seeing Laura in and out of consciousness.
“I remember holding her hand and talking to her, then I was out again. My next memory is waking up in the hospital.”
Collins was taken to the University Hospital of Wales following the collision.
He told the court he suffered injuries including a broken pelvis, femur and ribs.
The defendant spent about four weeks in hospital and attended Joseph’s funeral in late October.
Asked about his relationship with Joseph’s mother Laura Bright, who was also in the crash, he said: “It has been obviously hard.
“But we are very close – we have always been very close. We have been keeping each other sane and keeping each other together.”
The court heard they have been in a relationship for about six years and married after the incident.
Prosecutor Janet McDonald asked if Collins remembered undertaking anyone on the morning of the collision.
He replied: “Like I said, the whole day is a blur, sorry.”
Collins denies one count of causing death by dangerous driving and four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
The trial continues.