Family speak out after losing much-loved 80-year-old gran
THE family of an 80-year-old killed by a drug driver with 55 previous driving convictions have spoken of their heartache.
Great-great-grandmother Tydfil Jenkins was taking cake to a friend in Bethania Street, Maesteg, on January 10, 2017, when she was hit by a driver who had taken cocaine.
Ms Jenkins – described by her daughter as the “centre of the family” – suffered “catastrophic injuries” and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
In February last year Alan Davies was jailed for four years after admitting causing death by careless driving and driving under the influence of drugs.
He also pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified, without a licence and with no insurance.
Ms Jenkins’ heartbroken family have now spoken about the devastating loss as part of a new South Wales Police campaign to crack down on drink- and drug-driving.
Ms Jenkins’ daughter, Hayley Morgan, said: “That man didn’t just kill my mother, he ruined our lives. “Our lives will never be the same. “My mother was quite a character, what you saw is what you got.
“She was always out socialising with her friends, bingo was her favourite. ‘Naughty Nana’ is what the grandchildren called her.
“She just was the centre of the family.”
Ms Jenkins’ nephew, Jay, had been living at her home after his mother passed away, and Ms Morgan spoke about how his grandmother’s death affected him.
“Sadly my younger sister passed away a while ago, so she took over the role of helping look after my sister’s children because they had no mam anymore,” she said.
“Suddenly I was thinking ‘what about Jay, my nephew?’ because he was living with my mother.
“I went to check he was OK. I said ‘it’s an accident, everything will be fine’.
“A little while later we found out it wasn’t an accident because [Davies] had failed the drug-drive test and my mum died because he hit her.
“The initial impact was, obviously, we were all devastated, but my nephew, Jay, he was homeless.”
Ms Jenkins’ two granddaughters, Stacey Morgan and Louise Forte, have also spoken out to warn others not to drink- or drug-drive.
Stacey Morgan said: “It was not only a shock but it was just horrific.
“When they said he’s failed the drug and drink test, there’s no word to describe what I felt.
“Not only had he chosen to drive without insurance or a licence, he had also taken drugs.
“She was ripped from us by someone who didn’t care.”
The four Welsh police forces – South Wales Police, Dyfed-Powys Police, Gwent Police and North Wales Police – have now joined forces for the next month to tackle drugand drink-driving.
Led by South Wales Police, the campaign will see increased resources on the roads across Wales.
In the past 50 years the number of people injured on the road by drinkdrivers has fallen dramatically, but there has been a sixfold increase in the number of people caught driving under the influence of drugs in the UK.