Driver labelled ‘road menace’ after crashing into parked car
A MAN with a history of dangerous driving was described by a judge as a “menace on the roads” as he was jailed for a string of motoring offences.
Dafydd Jones was jailed after crashing his car into a parked car on a residential street in Nelson, Treharris, on October 4 this year.
Jones, 30, was also driving while disqualified with a cloned number plate and had smashed all of the windows in the house of a woman who was a passenger in his car at the time of the incident.
He appeared at Cardiff Crown Court via video link for sentencing on October 19, charged with dangerous driving, forging a registration mark, driving while disqualified, driving with no insurance, failure to provide a specimen of breath for analysis and criminal damage.
The court heard how shortly after midnight on October 4, officers from South Wales Police in a marked police car parked near to the Railway Inn pub on Llanfabon Road noticed a
Ford Focus being driven on the wrong side of the road by Mr Jones as he turned off the A472.
Emma Harris, prosecuting, told the court how, travelling up Llwyncelyn Terrace, Jones swerved across the road and narrowly avoided hitting parked cars as he became aware of the police’s presence.
After passing the Hollybush pub, Jones made a right turn on to High Street, continuing to swerve aggressively and switching his headlights on and off. With no street lights on the road, this meant that the vehicle he was driving was momentarily in darkness.
Less than a minute after he was spotted by police, Jones turned on to Commercial Street and then drove at speed along Station Terrace before colliding with a Volkswagen Scirocco parked at the side of the residential street.
He hit the Volkswagen at such speed that it collided with another parked car, a Toyota Yaris, causing damage to both.
After the crash, police detained Jones – who was unsteady on his feet and had alcohol on his breath – while two female passengers and another male also left the vehicle.
He was found to be a disqualified driver and to be using a cloned number plate that belonged to another Ford vehicle and also failed to provide a specimen of breath.
Ms Harris also told the court how one of the female passengers, Victoria Davis, later reported to police that Jones had gone to her home “angry and looking for his girlfriend” and broken her windows.
In a police interview, Jones told police he had bought the Ford Focus for £250 two weeks earlier and he was “probably drunk” at the time of the crash, while he also admitted that smashing Ms Davis’ windows “sounded like something he’d do”.
The court heard how the defendant had nine previous convictions for driving while disqualified and four for dangerous driving, as well as several aggravated vehicle-takings. His last offence was in July 2019, which saw him disqualified for 11 years and seven months.
Richard Ace, mitigating, admitted that his client’s record was “very poor” but that he also wanted to break his “long life of criminal behaviour”.
He also said that while Jones had tried to stay out of vehicles since being disqualified, he had found himself “in a vicious circle” when looking for work and needing transport.
In his sentencing remarks, Recorder Neil Bidder QC told Mr Jones: “Your record is simply appalling. You simply will not comply with court orders.
“You drove in an extremely dangerous manner and were clearly intoxicated, disqualified from driving and with no insurance. It is a matter of complete good fortune that nobody was killed or injured.
“You are, without question, a menace on the roads.”
Jones was sentenced to 28 months’ imprisonment for his motoring and criminal damage offences and was disqualified from driving for a further seven years and two months.