St Mellons crash survivor Shane Loughlin has sentence reduced

A survivor of a car crash which left three young people dead has had his sentence for dangerous driving reduced.

Shane Loughlin, 32, was not driving at the time of the crash in St Mellons, Cardiff, last March - but had driven the same car while inhaling laughing gas just hours before.

The four-month reduction by the Court of Appeal means he could be released from prison shortly.

He was sentenced to one year and five months last September.

At the time, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke told Cardiff Crown Court that Loughlin had shown "a total disregard for the law". while filming himself inhaling nitrous oxide at the wheel.

Shortly after he was jailed, Loughlin was then given a six-month prison term by magistrates in Cardiff - to run concurrently with the earlier prison term - for an unconnected offence of drink driving and driving without insurance.

Loughlin, from Rumney, Cardiff, had hit speeds of up to 90mph (145km/h) on the night of the fatal crash last year.

Loughlin was a passenger in the Volkswagen Tiguan when it veered off the A48 in east of Cardiff and crashed into undergrowth on 4 March.

The crash killed Eve Smith, 21, Darcy Ross, 21, and Rafel Jeanne, 24, who had been driving.

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

It was more than 40 hours before the car was discovered. The families said police had dismissed their concerns.

The Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating seven Gwent Police officers concerning their involvement in the search for the five and the later discovery of the crash scene.

Last month, IOPC director David Ford said: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families and friends of the young people who tragically lost their lives, those who were left seriously injured, and everyone affected by this incident."