THE driver of a car involved in a crash which killed a young woman and seriously injured another had been “bragging about his driving” and was warned about getting behind the wheel, a jury heard.

Jago Clarke and Emma Price, both now 21, are on trial accused of causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, and causing death by driving a vehicle whilst unlicensed and uninsured.

Emergency services were called to a crash on the B4341 at Portfield Gate, near Haverfordwest, on the evening of June 13, 2021.

Ella Smith, who was a 21-year-old passenger in the Ford Ka driven by Clarke, died in the crash, while Daisy Buck, the passenger in a Seat Ibiza travelling in the opposite direction to the defendants, was seriously injured.

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Luis Heathfield, who was one of the group who had been at Broad Haven beach with the defendants, told the jury that Clarke – who held a provisional licence at the time – had been “bragging about his driving” and saying that he would overtake everyone.

He said he warned Clarke about driving Miss Smith’s car back.

“I shouted at him ‘No, don’t be a f****** idiot’ when we were leaving the car park,” he said.

When questioned by Dyfed Thomas, representing Price, Mr Heathfield said Clarke had been drinking that day.

“When he got out of the car when I first saw him he had a beer. A Budweiser bottle. He had a bottle in his hand and it was open. He was sipping it.

“I watched him making a mix. It was a bottle of vodka and Sourz.

“He wasn’t falling over. He wasn’t stumbling. But the way he was speaking, he was slurring.

“I made a comment about driving. I said they would smell it on his breath. He said no, he had a bottle of deodorant. He would spray it.”

The witness said he was a passenger in his girlfriend-at-the-time’s Fiat Punto, along with another friend. He said the cars behind - being driven by Price and Clarke - were about 50 metres back in the moments before the crash.

“Emma was driving fast, and Jago was too. Emma’s car was just going over the line in the middle of the road – I think, by the looks of it, it was to try and stop Jago from passing her.”

He added that Price's car then returned to the correct lane.

“I’ve seen Emma coming around the bend,” he said. “Jago’s car just started spinning.

“I heard a massive bang when it happened.”

Rowan Fair was driving the Seat Ibiza heading in the opposite direction along the B4341.

“Looking at the chicane there was two cars travelling – one overtaking round the blind bend,” he said.

“The vehicle on the correct side of the road was a white Ford Ka and the vehicle overtaking was a blue Citroen.”

He estimated they were “about 30 to 40 yards” away, and were travelling at “a considerable speed”.

“As I stopped accelerating I saw the blue car complete the overtake, as such, and come back in front of the white car,” he said.

“I saw the white car hit the hedge. I saw it fly back out right across.”

He was asked if there was any time to react before the crash.

“No, none at all,” he said.

Miss Buck described the Fiat Punto as going past at a “ridiculous speed”.

“As the car was going past I glanced back,” she said. “I looked back and there was a blue car coming towards us at speed.

“Did you notice anything else?,” asked prosecutor Jim Davis.

“Just that it was going really really fast. Then there was this horrendous impact,” she said.

“I immediately looked down at my feet and my right ankle was bent. It was an open wound. I knew it was not good.

“It was indescribable, the pain.”

“She was in a bad condition,” Mr Fair said. “I instantly saw the snap in her ankle and leg.”

The court heard that two men who were driving along the road stopped to try and help – disconnecting the battery in the Ford Ka – which was smoking.

An off-duty police officer, PC James Mitchell, also arrived at the scene after travelling back from Broad Haven and provided assistance and helped direct emergency services when they arrived.  

He confirmed that Miss Smith died at the scene.  

Clarke, of Sunningdale Drive in Hubberston, Milford Haven, pleaded guilty on the day of trial to a lesser charge of causing death by careless driving and also to causing death by driving a vehicle whilst unlicensed and uninsured. The jury will have to determine whether they accept Clarke’s plea to the alternative charge.

Price, of Holloway in Haverfordwest, denied all charges.

The trial continues.