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Teenager sentenced after crashing car into campsite

Aled Scourfield
BBC News
The Pembrokeshire Herald A group of tents can be seen in a field with one central tent seen crushed. They are all surrounded by a police cordon with markers on the road recreating the crash. The Pembrokeshire Herald
Jack Hale's car veered off the road crashing into a group of tents at the campsite in Pembrokeshire

A teenager has been sentenced after crashing his car into a campsite just three weeks after passing his driving test, and injuring several people.

Jack Hale, 19, from Simpsons Cross in Haverfordwest had previously admitted four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court.

On Friday, he was sentenced to 20 months in a young offenders' institution, suspended for 18 months, and has also been banned from driving and will be required to carry out 250 hours unpaid work.

Several people were injured and taken to hospital as a result of the crash in Newgale, Pembrokeshire, on 12 August 2023.

Hale was driving a Ford Fiesta carrying five passengers at the time of the crash - with three in the back seat and two sharing the front passenger seat, one sitting on the other's lap.

Swansea Crown Court heard that Hale, then 17, was travelling at 66mph (106km/h) down the hill from Haverfordwest, before slowing slightly to 55mph (88km/h) as he entered a 30mph (50km/h) zone near Newgale campsite.

He lost control of the car on a bend at the bottom of the hill.

Grainy CCTV footage shown in court captured the moment the vehicle flipped several times and landed on tents at around 22:48 BST - one of which was occupied by a two-year-old child and another by a baby.

The baby escaped serious injury as it was in a cot, the campsite owner said.

A coastal road right next to fields with camping pitches seen on the grass and one bouquet of flowers. There are houses scattered up the hills on the right side of the image.
Hale's car veered into the campsite just after the point where the speed limit changes from 60mph to 30mph

The court heard that campers were "settling down" for the evening when they heard a "loud screech" and saw a car veer sideways, flipping several times into the campsite.

Paul Warburton, Emma Lewis, and Daniel Staniforth were pinned beneath the vehicle, but bystanders managed to lift it off them.

Oliver Copeland, a passenger in the car, suffered broken vertebrae and required surgery.

Mr Warburton sustained a dislocated right hip and a displaced clavicle.

Mr Staniforth was left with a fractured pelvis and ruptured bladder, while his partner Ms Lewis suffered third-degree burns.

Prosecutor Georgia Donahue summarised the victims' impact statements.

Mr Warburton said the crash had affected "every aspect" of his life, while Mr Staniforth said he could no longer work as a gardener and surf instructor.

Ms Lewis recalled feeling her body "shutting down" as she lay trapped.

She said she now suffers from PTSD, "nightmares and flashbacks", and still sleeps on a mattress in her baby son's room.

In mitigation, barrister Dyfed Thomas said Hale was a 17-year-old who had previously been of good character.

He told the court Hale "wholeheartedly" accepted his actions were wrong and had not driven since the incident.

Judge Huw Rees criticised the delay in bringing the case to court and said Hale had lost control of the car, which was carrying five passengers, which in itself was "inappropriate and even reckless".

The judge said Hale had driven in a "wholly inappropriate manner" and that it was "pure good fortune" a two-year-old and a baby were unharmed in the crash.

He noted that letters of support showed Hale was a "well-regarded young man" who felt "deep remorse" for what had happened.

Hale will be required to take an extended driving test before he can drive again.