Van driver died after hitting car

ADRIVER who was over the drink-drive limit and not wearing a seatbelt died after crashing his van into an oncoming car on a rural road, an inquest heard.

Fraser Lloyd Parry, who was 32 and from Cwrtnewydd near Llandovery, was travelling along the B4336 near the village of Llanllwni, Carmarthenshire, in a white Vauxhall Combo van on Friday, November 17 last year.

At around 9.53pm, his van was involved in a crash with a Ford Fiesta which was travelling in the opposite direction. Emergency services were called and Mr Parry was found unconscious in his van before later being pronounced dead.

Four females who were travelling in the Ford Fiesta all suffered serious injuries, including the driver who had to be cut out of the car. A third vehicle, a silver BMW, which Mr Parry was following before the crash, also came to a stop although the driver was uninjured.

An inquest into Mr Parry’s death, held at Llanelli Town Hall yesterday, heard there was a “substantial impact” between the Vauxhall and the Ford and that Mr Parry died from “internal injuries” sustained in the collision.

Speaking at the inquest, the investigating officer in the case, police sergeant Gareth James of Dyed-Powys Police, said both vehicles had rotated on the road as a result of the crash, which, according to his investigation, happened on a “very wet” evening and on a “slight bend”. He said when he arrived at the scene “it was raining heavily with high winds” and there were “scattered leaves” on the road.

Sgt James told the inquest an investigation found there were no defects with the vehicles involved and no suggestion of any medical cause being to blame. He said the investigation was unable to determine at what speeds the vehicles involved were travelling at.

He did reference a toxicology report which showed Mr Parry had an alcohol reading of 240mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood – the legal limit is 80mg per 100ml of blood.

Sgt James said it was his finding that the Vauxhall van had “veered over into the lane of the oncoming Ford Fiesta” and that Mr Parry was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the fatal crash.

Paul Bennett, acting senior coroner for Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, read from the toxicology report which found “evidence of recent consumption of alcohol” on Mr Parry’s part, but he added that it could not be determined if this caused the crash.

Concluding the inquest, Mr Bennett said: “On November 17, 2023 a collision occurred between a Vauxhall van and a Ford Fiesta car. The van was being driven by Fraser Lloyd Parry. Just outside Llanllwni a manoeuvre was undertaken by Mr Parry which brought his vehicle into contact with the Ford Fiesta. In the circumstances I am going to make the following findings: He (Mr Parry) died as a result of internal injuries while driving a car which came into contact with an oncoming vehicle.”

Mr Bennett offered his sincere condolences to the families affected and recorded a conclusion of road traffic collision as the cause of Mr Parry’s death.