A college lecturer that was involved in a deadly crash that killed a grandmother has been jailed for five years.
54-year-old Iestyn Jones, from Tredegar, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after the head-on collision near Ebbw Vale killed 65-year-old Shirley Culleton and seriously injured her husband.
The crash happened on July 6th 2019 on the A4046 Cwm road, as Mrs Culleton and her husband were driving along the bypass. At 1.20pm, Mr Jones drifted into their lane and crashed into them.
A trial at Newport Crown Court found that Jones has been “fiddling with his radio” at the time of the incident, resulting in collision.
The trial, which took place in December, revealed that Jones had initially crashed into a separate car driven by Stephan Williams, which caused her minor injuries, before hitting Mrs Culleton’s car.
Speaking to a bystander at the scene, Mr Jones stated: “I only took my eye off the road for a second.”
Although allegedly accepting fault initially, Jones denied all charges and called that he could not remember what had happened. Speaking to the jury, he said: “I’m a really good driver. If I thought I had done this I would put my hands up. That’s why I’m here.”
A victim impact statement was read out in court by Emma Culleton, the wife of Mr and Mrs Culletons’ son Paul. It read: “It's almost two-and-a-half years since this tragic incident happened and even though time is passing, the hurt and heartache is still as raw today as it was in 2019.
“July 6, 2019 was the day our lives changed forever and the heart of our family was taken away from us. We've been living in a nightmare ever since.
“Every day we are filled with anger, sadness, grief and many other overwhelming emotions. I continuously feel like I have forgotten something and like I have this very big whole inside me that I know will never be filled.
“If I had a bad day I would always ring my mum and she would always be there and know what to say to make everything okay. All I want to do is make that phone call, but she won't be there to answer.”
Mrs Culleton died in hospital a day after the incident, and Mr Culleton spent 7 weeks recovering in a separate hospital.
Iestyn Jones will have to serve half of his five years and six months sentence in prison, and has been disqualified from driving for five years and nine months.
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