Death-crash driver tells of 'panicking' (From Barry And District News)

Death-crash driver tells of 'panicking'

A BARRY man has been cleared of causing death by dangerous driving after an accident in which another driver died.

Paul King, a design engineer, from Dockview Road, was found guilty of the lesser charge of careless driving, and fined 750 with six points on his licence.

King told a court that he anicked seconds before the accident.

He was on his way to work at Biotrace in Bridgend when his people carrier turned on its side and slid into an oncoming car at the end of the Cowbridge bypass, where the road changes from two lanes into one. The driver of the other car, David Andrew Thomas, aged 41, of Brackla, died from his injuries.

Both men had to be cut from their vehicles, and King spent six weeks in hospital recovering from his injuries.

Peter Heyward, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court that father-of-four King, aged 37, failed to pull in behind the car in front of him because he was going too fast. The driver of that car, Eryl Jones, said King was inches from her vehicle, and "looked terrified" as he tried to avoid hitting her.

She said: "He was was hanging onto his steering wheel as if struggling to slow down, not to go into the back of me. I was waiting for the impact, then he swerved out. His vehicle flipped over."

King told the court he had no real explanation for the accident. He said: "I wasn't late for work and there was nothing on my mind to distract me. It was a route I took every day."