Teen jailed after swerving car into man in car park

A 19-year-old driver has been sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders institute after she swerved her car into a man who was throwing a rugby ball with friends in a train station car park.

Lexi Dyas struck Declan Mahoney, 21, with her Fiat 500 at Mountain Ash railway station on July 3 last year. Cardiff Crown Court heard Dyas drove at speed into the car park before swerving directly at Mr Mahoney, who had tried to step out of the way of the vehicle.

Following the collision, Dyas’ passenger got out to help Mr Mahoney, and the defendant followed behind her.

Mr Mahoney was taken to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Talbot Green, where he was treated for multiple injuries including a wound to his back, a laceration to his right eyebrow, a wound to his left thigh, a fractured elbow, a fractured finger, a fracture to his left shin bone and fluid on his knees.

In a victim personal statement read to the court by prosecutor Andrew Davies, Mr Mahoney said: “Since the incident, several things have happened and I’m still struggling with daily life. I’m struggling to comprehend how no remorse has been shown by Lexi as a result of this incident.

“I have been struggling mentally and it’s had a big impact on every aspect of my life. I am nervous to leave the house and have been unable to sleep at all due to the physical stress and pain in my leg. The pain is so bad it’s still been affecting me for months. I still rarely leave the house for fear and anxiety of having something else happen to me. It’s a daily struggle.

“My mother has been supporting me and pushed me back to speak to the doctor who prescribed me with PTSD as a result of this incident. I have scars on both of my shins, ankle and above my eyebrow.”

During her police interview, Dyas claimed the collision was an accident caused by a lack of concentration. Prosecutor Mr Davies disputed this, pointing out that the car had swerved towards Mr Mahoney. Dyas told officers she does not “hold a grudge” against the victim and thought he would move the opposite way, saying the next thing she knew she had hit him.

Dyas, of Seymour Street, Mountain Ash, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The court heard she has no previous convictions.

Defence barrister Emma Harris said her client accepts she was driving in excess of the speed limit at the time, but cannot explain why she swerved towards Mr Mahoney, maintaining it was not a deliberate action. Ms Harris said Dyas had expressed remorse and feels terrible about the harm caused. She added that Dyas had aspirations to become a nurse but recognises the jeopardy she has placed herself in and was fearful of going to prison.

Sentencing, Recorder Christian Jowett said the defendant had shown a “deliberate disregard for road safety.”

Dyas was sentenced to 18 months detention in a young offenders institute and disqualified from driving for two years and nine months. Both the defendant and her family in the public gallery wept as she was led down to the cells.