Cocaine driver killed gran in head-on crash
A DRIVER high on cocaine killed a much-loved grandmother and injured her husband in a head-on crash – and then fled the scene.
Ryan Reardon, 34, had only recently got his licence back from a previous driving ban when he caused last month’s fatal collision.
Cardiff Crown Court yesterday heard how Reardon – from Beech Grove, Oakdale, Caerphilly – had been spotted driving “like a man possessed” before the smash. Police at the scene found a bag containing white powder on the driver’s seat of his car.
The collision between Reardon’s Ford Transit van and Christine Rowe’s Vauxhall Zafira occurred on Chepstow Road, Newport, at about 7pm on June 5.
James Wilson, prosecuting, said: “The defendant was driving on the wrong side of the road at speed – Mrs Rowe had no chance of avoiding the collision.”
The defendant was driving the van he used for his business called Cool Heat Engineering.
Prosecutors said the dangerous driving lasted for about 25 minutes or 12 miles in conditions described as “atrocious”, with one witness describing rain “hammering down”.
As Reardon drove from Junction 28 of the M4 on to Cardiff Road and then Chepstow Road, police received reports of him speeding, tailgating, weaving, swerving and ignoring red lights.
One witness said: “I have never seen anyone driving as badly or dangerously as that in all my life. He was driving like a man possessed.”
The court heard he collided with seven other vehicles before causing the fatal collision. He had been travelling at more than twice the speed limit.
Mr Wilson said: “Such was the ferocity of the collision, it caused the rear of the car lifted into the air.”
Witness Darren Smith called 999 and told Reardon the victims were “in a bad way” before seeing the defendant leave the scene.
Prosecutors said he “lashed out” as police tried to handcuff him and had to be taken to the ground.
One officer noticed he was in a trance-like state and had a blank look, while another found a bag containing white powder on the driver’s seat.
The ambulance arrived just after 7.10pm and Mrs Rowe was pronounced dead 20 minutes later, while her husband Brian was taken to hospital.
Reardon, who was not wearing a seatbelt, admitted he had taken 0.5g of cocaine that afternoon and a blood test confirmed he was more than six times over the specified limit.
Prosecutors said Mrs Rowe, who was 70 when she died, was “part of a large and loving family”.
The victims’ daughter-in-law Joanne Tracey told the court the couple had recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
Recalling the scene in the hospital where Mr Rowe was treated, she said: “I have never felt so much pain, confusion and sadness all in one room. It was heartbreaking.”
Mr Rowe, 80, who was in the passenger seat, was diagnosed with multiple rib fractures and a collapsed lung.
Prosecutors said Reardon had been before the courts for 15 previous offences, including dangerous driving.
The court heard he got his licence back two months before the incident.
Reardon admitted causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop and possessing cocaine.
Kevin Seal, defending, said his client started taking cocaine following a bereavement.
He added: “He can’t turn back the clock, but he wishes he could. He lives daily with the regret for what he did.”
Judge Eleri Rees said: “No sentence this court can pass can restore Mrs Rowe to her family or adequately reflect their loss and grief.”
Reardon was jailed for eight years and eight months and disqualified from driving for 10 years after he leaves prison.
Police Sergeant Shane Draper, from Gwent Police, said the sentence should act as “a warning to those who decide to take illegal substances and drive”.
Janine Davies, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The danger he posed to other road users that day was significant.”