Killer driver who fled scene caught by DNA on airbag
ADANGEROUS driver who reached speeds of almost 90mph in a residential street killed a devoted single father after smashing into the back of the car he was in.
Vladimir Cech, 37, died five days after being involved in a “catastrophic collision” in the early hours of April 25 just outside his own home in Newport.
A modified Volkswagen Golf GTI, described as being capable of reaching speeds of up to 235mph, driven by Blane Nunes, 26, crashed into the back of a Skoda Fabia in which Mr Cech was a passenger in Caerleon Road, Newport.
Nunes, who had been recorded by his passenger, Chloe Kidd, driving erratically with a cider bottle between his legs 10 minutes before the collision, fled the scene leaving Mr Cech with life-threatening injuries.
Mr Cech, a single father of two teenage daughters, was taken to hospital but died on April 30 as a result of sustaining a traumatic brain injury.
A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court yesterday heard Nunes and his passenger, Ms Kidd, were driving along residential streets in Newport in the early hours.
Nunes’ car had a two-litre charged petrol engine that had been modified and retuned so the vehicle had a 420bhp, which amounted to the power of a modern sports car.
At the time of the collision, at around 2.30am, Mr Cech was a passenger in the Skoda, which was being parked outside his home in Caerleon Road by his friend, Miroslav Tatar.
Dad-of-two Nunes, who was driving in the direction of Ponthir, collided with the rear of the Skoda and caused it to smash into a parked Ford Focus.
VLADIMIR CECH’S 17-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER READ OUT THIS POIGNANT VICTIM PERSONAL STATEMENT FROM THE WITNESS BOX...
My father loved his family and friends and enjoyed every moment of his life. To all of us he was like a hero.
He protected us, was compassionate and one of the strongest guys you could meet, and I can’t believe he has been taken from us so suddenly.
I think he is looking down on us laughing because he could find something funny in everything.
He always knew how to fix any problem and my sister and I were his world. We’re both 15 and 17 and far too young to lose the one person who was a father to us.
He looked after us on his own for the last 12 years and made us the children we are today.
Since the night of the accident I have been upset and angry at the same time. I was supposed to go with my dad that night and I feel guilty for not stopping what happened.
Prosecutor Gareth James said: “It’s clear from the evidence the defendant was unable to slow down or drive around the Skoda and he drove into the back of it. They continued to move forward and the Skoda collided with a Focus parked up on the side of the road. The collision was substantial, causing extensive damage to all vehicles, particularly the Skoda.
“The collision woke up neighbours nearby and one person saw the defendant get out of the Volkswagen Golf, appear agitated, and shouted to someone to get out of the vehicle and they ran towards the direction of the M4. Mr Cech was found unconscious and unresponsive but Mr Tatar was able to remove himself from the vehicle, though confused and injured.”
The emergency services turned up at the scene and quickly conveyed Mr Cech to hospital with life-threatening head injuries.
One of the first people to see Mr Cech was his 17-year-old daughter, who came out of their home shortly after the collision.
Mr James continued: “Tragically,
He could always find the answer no matter how serious the problem was.
We’ll miss his crazy sense of humour and ability to be childish and make us laugh. We’ll miss the parties we had at his house with just him, my sister and me.
When he got home from a night shift he would dance and sing and he would wait up for us to make sure we were ready for school. I miss him waking up at 2am and taking us to Tesco because he hated all the people in the day.
On the night of the accident I was at home asleep when I heard a terrible noise and found Dad in a horrible way. I’m still reliving what I saw that night and, although it gets easier each day, I’ll never forget what happened outside our home.
I can’t get to sleep, I don’t eat as much as I used to, and quite often take sleeping tablets to help me get to sleep, I have been to the doctors for anxiety and I have panic despite the subsequent medical care he received, he succumbed to his injuries and died at 9.15am on April 30.”
Nunes’ identity was revealed after his DNA profile was found on the Golf’s deployed airbags and he was seen on CCTV putting fuel into the car shortly before the collision. He was also caught on mobile footage filmed by his passenger, Ms Kidd.
He was arrested and interviewed by police and denied being the driver of the vehicle, but he later pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
After Mr Cech’s death Nunes pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He also pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and uninsured.
Forensic collision investigators calculated that the Golf was travelling at at least 85mph before the collision and hit the Skoda at 67mph on impact. Tyre marks indicated the Golf travelled 37.4m with heavy braking before the collision and the Skoda had travelled 12.5m after impact.
Nunes, who was 25 at the time of the collision, has previous convictions for dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, and drug-driving.
Nikita McNeill, defending, said there was no evidence her client had been drinking while at the wheel and said he had not been involved in racing, crossing lanes, or aggressive overtaking.
She said her client had fled the scene because he was shocked himself and had been driving at high speeds because he thought the roads would be empty.
Ms McNeill added: “He has two children, two and eight years old. He’s going to miss a significant proportion of important years in their lives – he knows that and it’s inevitable.”
Sentencing, Judge Daniel Williams attacks, which Dad would normally be able to fix.
My sister and I argue more, which my Dad would have sorted out, and I worry about what she’s getting up to. She has lost all trust in people, even family and friends, and as a 17-year-old I have been forced into looking after a teenager.
I rushed to hospital after the collision. The type of man my Dad was meant I knew he would get up and be okay even when I was really scared. I wanted to stay there until he was better even though he looked in a terrible way.
When my grandmother found out what happened she was going to fly over from the Czech Republic the next day but when she found out how ill he was she had to borrow money to get an earlier flight. She only got to see her son a few hours before he died.
She has been unable to take in what has happened and that he’s not coming back. said Nunes, who looked at the floor during the hearing, had shown a lack of remorse and empathy and was only thinking of himself.
He said: “You were showing off in front of your female passenger and driving at great speed.
“You came across a Skoda parking on this residential street lined on both sides with parked cars.
“You were driving at outrageous speeds – at least 85mph, almost three times the speed limit. You gave no thought to others on the road – that, I am afraid, appears to be in your nature. You gave yourself no chance of avoiding the Skoda in which Mr Cech was the passenger and there was a terrible collision She feels really angry about what has happened – especially towards the person who has taken him away in one moment.
Every day Dad would teach us something new. He taught us how to look after ourselves, how to build things, and how to use tools.
All my friends would come up and speak to Dad about their problems and he would sort them out. Once a week he would come to the salon where I worked to let me practise on him.
Now I get really upset when I go back to work.
He was the only person to earn money in the house and he paid all the bills and for all the food. We have had to rely on charities and food parcels to survive and, from the moment it all happened, the only thing I could think about was how I was going to survive now he wasn’t there.
I always think someone is going to knock which resulted in his death.
“Mr Cech lived nearby and his daughter heard the collision and came out to see her father gravely injured. You ran away, having told your passenger to do the same.”
He added: “You should focus on Vladimir Cech – he was 37 years of age when you caused his death. His 17-year-old and 15-year-old daughters have been left without a compassionate, funny and hard-working man – their dad. If you feel guilty you wear it lightly.”
Nunes, of Jenkins Street, Newport, was sentenced to four years and eight months’ imprisonment and was disqualified from driving for five years. on the door and we’ll be thrown out onto the streets.
We have no money at all and we rely on money from people we don’t even know. We couldn’t afford the funeral so had to arrange for the costs to be covered and the internet has been cut off so my Nan can’t contact us.
I have been trying to do odd jobs to get money for us to survive and at the moment I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay with my sister.
Dad was really close to my nan and they used to talk on the phone every day and had a long conversation the day before it happened.
Now we still don’t know what’s going to happen – we all miss him so much and our lives will never be the same. He’ll never see our big birthdays, see us get married, he missed me getting engaged, and we will never see him coming through the door.