‘Death-race’ teenager in miscarriage of justice appeal bid

LAWYERS representing a teenager convicted of causing death by dangerous driving while “racing” another young man along a main road will argue at the Court of Appeal that he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Stephen Fettah, who was 19 at the time of the fatal incident, was jailed for five years in December 2017 for his involvement in the death of Jenna Miller, who died as a result of her injuries after a crash in Cardiff Road, Barry, the previous year.

Ms Miller, whose death robbed two little boys of their mother, was killed when a car driven by Jamie Oaten, then 23, smashed into hers as it emerged from a Texaco garage at around 9pm.

The court was told that Oaten and Fettah were in a race, where their speeds reached more than 70mph.

Prosecuting counsel Matthew Cobbe said: “The prosecution case is that those two young men were more intent on each other and their race than on other road users around them.”

The impromptu race between the two, who did not know each other, was said to have started at traffic-lights around 500 metres from the scene of the crash.

Witnesses described hearing the sound of car engines and seeing the two vehicles accelerating down the road. One said they were travelling at “motorway speeds”, while another estimated they were driving at around 60mph.

Despite being the driver whose car collided with that of Ms Miller, Oaten received a reduced sentence of three years and nine months because he pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

Fettah has always maintained his innocence, denying he was in a race at all.

His barrister, Peter Griffiths QC, has now secured a hearing before a Court of Appeal judge at which he will argue that a full appeal should be allowed to proceed.

In an advice note shared by Fettah’s family, Mr Griffiths states: “I am quite satisfied that it can properly be argued... that the trial judge should have given the jury far greater legal assistance as to the alternative defence case, namely that even if the jury concluded, contrary to [Fettah’s] evidence, that he had driven competitively [and hence potentially dangerously] trying to keep up with the far more powerful vehicle in front of him for a relatively short distance from the trafficlights, he had – demonstrably on the CCTV evidence and expert evidence – applied his brakes before any hazard was visible either to him or to the driver of the vehicle in front.”

In addition, Lyndon Davies, a driving instructor who was giving a lesson in the area at the time of the crash, has provided a witness statement in which he says that while he and his pupil both observed Oaten’s car travelling way in excess of the 40mph speed limit, no other car could be seen racing it.

Mr Griffiths states: “Of course, had the evidence of Lyndon Davies been available at trial, it would have been an additional important factor for the jury to weigh in the balance when they were considering whether they could safely draw the crucial inference and/or inferences necessary for a guilty verdict.”

The date of the Court of Appeal hearing has not yet been fixed.