St Mellons: Cardiff crash survivor jailed for dangerous driving

A driver of a car later involved a crash that killed three young people has been jailed after being filmed inhaling laughing gas at the wheel.

Shane Loughlin, 32, drove up to 90mph in selfie footage from the night of the crash shown to Cardiff Crown Court.

He was sentenced to one year and five months after admitting dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.

He was later injured when the same car crashed in St Mellons, Cardiff.

The video showed Loughlin, from Rumney, Cardiff, filming himself heading east down the M4.

There were passengers in the car. At times he had neither hand on the wheel of the Volkswagen Tiguan.

Dad-of-three Loughlin was seen inhaling from balloons and the car veered across lanes.

He was in the back seat of the same car when it crashed shortly after 02:00 GMT on 4 March, killing Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21 and Rafel Jeanne, 24.

Loughlin and Sophie Russon, 20, were critically injured and taken to hospital.

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke told him: "This was a deliberate decision to drive dangerously. You ignored the rules of the road and disregarded the risks to others.

"It was prolonged driving and prolonged use of the mobile phone to record what you were doing. You had passengers in the vehicle.

"You were filming, it would appear, to be able to share that video with others."

He took a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road, said the judge, adding that he showed "total disregard" for other road users.

"You know full well the consequences that can arise from a road traffic collision," said Judge Lloyd-Clark.

"It was luck, not judgment, that meant you didn't seriously injure or kill anyone else or yourself."

The court heard he had 23 previous convictions for offences including drug driving, driving while disqualified and battery of the mother of his children.

Judge Lloyd-Clark dubbed his conviction history as "truly appalling".

She disqualified him from driving for two years and eight months. He will have to pass an extended driving test to get his licence back.

Shortly before the crash Loughlin moved to the back seat.

The court was told the car and its five occupants crashed deep in undergrowth near a roundabout in the St Mellons.

They were not found for 46 hours.

South Wales Police officers investigating the fatal crash removed items from the scene including a packet of party balloons and nitrous oxide canisters.

They also found Loughlin's iPhone which contained four videos of him driving dangerously.

In one video, lasting 23 seconds, Loughlin filmed himself driving the car as he inhaled from a balloon.

The speedometer was at 80mph, with the fuel light and airbag light illuminated.

Another clip showed the vehicle driving on the M4 at 90mph, with a winter tyre warning light on.

CCTV showed Loughlin, disqualified from driving at the time, getting in and out of the vehicle's driver seat at a petrol station at 22:41 on 3 March.

Loughlin was arrested at Cardiff Bay police station on 17 May.

During a police interview, he said he could not remember driving and that he had not inhaled nitrous oxide before.

Jason Howells, prosecuting, said: "He told police he did not think he would have been driving because he was a disqualified driver."

He later appeared at Cardiff Magistrates' Court, where he admitted dangerous driving and driving while disqualified.

The court heard Loughlin was the subject of a community order, relating to an incident involving the sister of Mr Jeanne - his former partner and mother to his three children - at the time.

Andrew Taylor, defending, said the fatal collision was a reminder that "partying and driving motor vehicles is a cocktail that should never be mixed".

"The driver at the time the fatal crash happened was not this defendant and he cannot be blamed for the accident that cost those lives," he said.

Loughlin suffered facial fractures, leg fractures, a ruptured aorta and a fractured elbow.

Mr Taylor said: "When he was taken to the University Hospital of Wales, he was advised that the only thing probably that saved his life was the cold temperatures at the time.

"The mental and physical scars will be with Shane Loughlin forever and a day."

He said his client's heart function was between 24% and 50% and it was likely he would require heart surgery.

Previously, Joel Lia, 28, of Rumney, Cardiff was fined for driving the Volkswagen Tiguan without a licence or insurance an hour before the crash.

He had left the vehicle shortly before the fatal collision.

An initial inquest hearing into the deaths of Mr Jeanne, Ms Ross and Ms Smith heard they were declared dead at the scene of the crash.

The inquest was adjourned to await the findings of further histology and toxicology tests.

The length of time taken by Gwent Police and South Wales Police to find the group, who were reported missing by family members, is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

A Gwent Police officer has been issued with a notice of misconduct concerning their review of the missing persons' logs and relevant risk assessments.

On 2 September at 04:20 BST Loughlin was caught drink-driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance in Cardiff.

He admitted those charges and is due to be sentenced for those driving offences at a later date.