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A driver who was high on cocaine careered off a road in mid Wales killing his passenger. When people arrived at the scene to help he then lied to them, claiming the man who had died had been driving the car in a desperate attempt to avoid jail.
Craig Thomas, 52, and his friends Lee Sullivan and Mark Wilson had been socialising together in the early hours of March 22, 2023 when Thomas decided to drive the three of them to his home in Brecon. A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday heard how Thomas had taken a line of cocaine less than an hour before he told Mr Sullivan and Mr Wilson that he was fit enough to drive Mr Wilson’s Ford Focus. Mr Wilson had admitted he was too intoxicated to drive his own car.
Niklas Strobl, prosecuting, told the court the trio got in the car that morning before 5am and Thomas was driving them north on the A470 in the Brecon Beacons national park when he lost control of the vehicle. The car had just passed the Storey Arms adventure centre on the A470 before Thomas failed to negotiate a right-hand bend in the road. The court heard this was most likely because he had 439mg of benzoylecgonine – indicating cocaine – per litre of blood in his system when the crash occurred.
The car was travelling so fast it flipped during the collision and ended up upside down on the roadside with part of the car overhanging into the road. Thomas and Mr Wilson were stuck in the car but Mr Sullivan, who had been the passenger in the rear of the vehicle, had been thrown from the car during the collision and ended up in the stream which straddles the main road with his face partially submerged in the water.
Motorist Mark Wilkes and his son had been driving southbound on the road and were first on the scene, followed by Richard Jones who had been driving his Royal Mail lorry. The three of them spoke to Thomas and Mr Wilson in the car who told them there was a third person in the vehicle who had exited the car. After scouring the area they found Mr Sullivan in the stream without a pulse. Mr Jones administered chest compressions but stopped and turned his attention to the others in the car because he was sure Mr Sullivan had died.
Mr Wilkes later told police his son helped free Thomas who had been trapped in the vehicle by cutting his seat belt with a knife. Mr Wilkes and Mr Jones also helped Mr Wilson out of the vehicle who was injured but okay. Thomas, uninjured, crawled out of the rear of the car through a smashed window and was immediately evasive when Mr Wilkes asked him who had been driving and what had happened.
The court heard Thomas, who was clearly under the influence of some sort of substance, had said he had been the passenger in the front of the car and Mr Sullivan had been driving – a story he repeated to officers from Dyfed-Powys Police who arrived at the scene. PC Harley and PC Roberts arrived at 5.10am by which time firefighters had also arrived and were continuing resuscitation attempts on Mr Sullivan, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. At 6.14am that morning police performed a drug wipe on Thomas which showed the reading of 439mg per litre of blood.
Minutes before Mr Wilkes had seen the defendant in the driver side of the vehicle with his seat belt on. When it was put to the defendant in later police interviews that from air bag DNA evidence and witness accounts it was clear he had been the driver of the vehicle at the time of the crash, the defendant continued to lie – at one point changing his story to say he had been the passenger in the rear of the vehicle. Eventually Thomas pleaded guilty at a plea and trial preparation hearing to causing death by driving under the influence of a controlled drug and to causing death while unlicensed, which afforded him a 25% discount.
A post-mortem examination conducted by Dr Stephen Leadbeatter confirmed Mr Sullivan died from blunt injury to the right forehead and chest in a man found immersed in water. Dr Leadbeatter noted Mr Sullivan had suffered cardiac arrest.
In a statement read out in court Mr Sullivan’s brother Christopher Baber said: “Growing up Lee was a big brother who always looked after me when no-one was there. He was funny and had a great sense of humour. In life we took different paths but I knew he was around when I needed him.” He said he had lost everything through the stress of his brother’s death and the resulting court case, adding: “Craig and my brother were close friends, they did a lot together and I don’t believe for one minute the crash was intentional. But I wish Craig told the truth from the beginning. I hope Craig gets the help he needs and I truly mean that.”
The court heard Thomas had 23 previous convictions for 52 offences including dishonesty offences, drug offences and multiple driving offences, two of which were committed since the death of Mr Sullivan. John Ryan, for Thomas, said the incident had been a “tragic accident” and said the two men had been close friends.
He said the men had had a conversation about who was fit to drive the car prior to getting in the car and Mr Wilson told Mr Sullivan and Thomas that he didn’t think he was fit to drive the car which belonged to him. Following that, Mr Ryan said, Thomas explained he felt fit enough to drive.
“He said he felt fine and he wanted to get home and he stupidly took the decision to drive,” Mr Ryan said. “He said he was gutted about his involvement. He has expressed genuine remorse.” Mr Ryan explained his client has engaged with support services such as Kaleidoscope and had been doing well during his time in custody where he had obtained a job in waste management.
Thomas, of Newgate Street, Llanfaes, Brecon, was sentenced by judge Jeremy Jenkins to 45 months and was disqualified from driving for a period of six years and 10 months. He must also pass an extended driving test before being able to obtain a licence in future.
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