Death crash driver ‘was not distracted by his mobile phone’

A DRIVER who caused the death of a heavily pregnant mother and her unborn daughter after ploughing into queued traffic has said he wished “with all my heart” it had not happened.

Power plant manager Craig Scott, 51, told his trial at Swansea Crown Court he was not distracted by his telephone at the time of the collision but had momentarily glanced away from the road ahead as something caught his eye.

The father of three from Heath, Cardiff, who is accused of causing the death of 27-year-old Rebecca Evans and seriously injuring her two-year-old son Cian by dangerous driving said he regularly drove the route along the M4 from his home to Baglan Bay power station, where he worked.

Giving evidence yesterday, he said he had not seen the accident, which happened on the M4 near Port Talbot, coming.

“If I saw it coming I would have avoided it and I wish with all my heart that I could have avoided it,” he said.

Scott told the court that on the morning of November 29, 2016, he set off at around 7am as usual, dropping his wife off and picking up a coffee and flapjack on the way.

He said he was not in a rush and had no major concerns or stresses and had put his two mobile phones on the passenger seat but had not touched them during the journey.

He made two calls, one to a colleague and one to his boss, during the journey with the latter call finishing 14 to 34 seconds before the crash.

Scott said he used controls on the steering wheel to make these calls and that they did not cause him to be distracted.

“As far as I was concerned I had made a call to my line manager, got the information I needed ... there was nothing else on my mind really,” he said.

Scott said he was driving at about 70mph in the second or outside lane of that section of the motorway.

He said: “I was driving along and there was something that attracted my attention on the bridge (above the motorway) and I looked away, I glanced away and there was something that attracted my attention on the left of me as well so I glanced at that.

“Obviously that’s distracted my attention from the road ahead and I believe that’s caused the accident.”

Scott said he did not know what either of the things that attracted his attention had been.

“I looked in front of me and I remember seeing the back of the silver car and thinking I haven’t got enough time to stop,” he said.

Scott said he “went for the brakes” and there was an “almighty” collision with the Peugeot in front.

Ms Evans, who was eight months pregnant and travelling in the front passenger seat of that vehicle with her partner Alex Evans, died at the scene, while their son Cian had to be airlifted to hospital having suffered serious injuries including bleeding on the brain and a fractured skull.

At an earlier hearing Scott pleaded guilty to causing Ms Evans’ death by careless driving but denies the more serious charge.

Catherine Richards, for the prosecution, previously told the court Scott was “quite simply avoidably and dangerously distracted”.

In cross-examination, Ms Richards asked him if driving towards stationary traffic at 70mph was dangerous and if you would expect to see someone doing that.

He said: “Not if they knew it was stationary, no.”

Ms Richards questioned Scott about whether he was paying attention to the road given that other motorists had managed to stop when they noticed the traffic in front slowing and coming to a stop.

Scott said: “I must have been, I must have been looking ahead.”

He said he did not know why he had not seen the Evanses’ car come to a stop.

“I did not drive with my eyes closed,” he added in answer to a question from Ms Richards.

“I was looking at the road. This is ridiculous.

“I must have been concentrating enough just to keep the car on the road, of course I was looking at the road.”

The trial continues.