‘Boy racer’ did not have child in booster seat
SCHOOL dropout Dean Collins married the mother of the fiveyear-old he killed through his dangerous driving following the horror crash.
Collins, who left school aged 15 to become a decorator, told Cardiff Crown Court he viewed five-year-old Joseph Smith – the child of his partner, Laura Bright – as his own son.
But the “boy racer” failed to ensure the youngster was in a booster seat as he drove him to football practice on the morning of September 13, 2015 – the day of the crash that killed Joseph and left four others with horrific injuries.
Collins, who had only recently passed his driving test at the time of the head-on collision, has been in a relationship with Joseph’s mother, Ms Bright, for the last six years.
Giving evidence in court, 23-year-old Collins said he viewed Joseph as his own son. He said he was taking Joseph to football practice at the time of the crash.
Collins admitted he had taken cocaine in the days before the collision.
Asked about his relationship with Ms Bright following Joseph’s death, he said: “It has been obviously hard but we are close. We have been keeping each other sane.”
The court heard the couple got married since the fatal crash in Western Avenue in Cardiff while Collins was released from hospital in time to attend Joseph’s funeral at the end of October 2015.
Collins said Joseph did not like using a booster seat and he did not think it was necessary.
Ms Bright, who was in the front passenger seat of the Ford Focus at the time of the collision, suffered memory loss following bleeding in her brain.
The defendant, who had not been wearing a seatbelt, stated he suffered injuries including a broken leg and pelvis, two broken ribs and a broken arm, as well as a torn aorta.
He said he had no memory of the collision but told police he had no points on his licence, was not speeding and was not using a mobile.
Collins had never been before the courts ahead of his trial, with jurors told he had no previous convictions.
However, he did have a reprimand from July 2011 for common assault and one caution from October 2012 for theft.