Zack Mason (Image: South Wales Police)
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A former Neath Port Talbot Council leader was struck and killed by an unaccompanied learner driver who was over the legal cannabis limit, Swansea Crown Court has heard.
The collision
Noel Crowley, 85, was crossing Water Street in Port Talbot at around 5.30pm on December 7 last year when he was hit by a Skoda Fabia driven by Zack Mason, who had pulled out of the car park of Blanco’s hotel where he worked.
Prosecutor Hannah George told the court Mr Crowley was on the uncontrolled pedestrian crossing and was “established on the road crossing” and “there to be seen by vehicles using the road”.
Mr Crowley hit the windscreen and bonnet before coming to rest approximately three metres from the point of impact. Members of the public rushed to help before emergency services arrived.
He was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff with severe head injuries and was also found to have fractures to his ribs and pelvis. He died three days later.
Cannabis and no licence
Mason, who was 20 at the time, was arrested at the scene. A blood test showed he had 2.3mg of cannabis per 100ml of blood – above the legal limit of 2mg.
In his police interview, Mason said another motorist had “flashed” him out of the car park and that his attention had been drawn to the other driver as he thanked him. He said he had last consumed cannabis two days before and acknowledged driving unaccompanied was a “stupid” mistake.
The court heard Mason gained a provisional licence in April 2021, but it was revoked the following year after he was caught driving without insurance.
A life of service
Mr Crowley – awarded a CBE, Deputy Lieutenant, Order of St John, Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice, and Freeman of the Borough – was described in a family statement as a man of “fairness and compassion” and great generosity, and as a champion of social equality.
His family called him “the man who kept our world turning” who is “missed in every tiny detail of the day”.
The court heard Mr Crowley’s wife of seven decades, Anne, slept each night with the hat he was wearing when he was knocked down.
Sentencing
Judge Huw Rees described Mr Crowley as a “much loved and much respected” man who was “known by many, and held in high esteem by all”. He said no sentence a court could impose could mark the value of a life lost.
David Singh, defending, said Mason took full responsibility and had not used cannabis since the incident. He said it was not a case of speeding or phone use, but that Mason had “clearly not been concentrating”, resulting in “devastating consequences”.
Zack Mason, now 22, of Lorraine Close, Sandfields, Port Talbot, had previously pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving while over the legal limit of a specified drug, and to causing death while driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence.
With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas, Mason was sentenced to four years in prison. He will serve up to half in custody before being released on licence. He was also banned from driving for seven years and must pass an extended test before he can get a licence.
