A STUDENT accused of causing a Neath man's death by dangerous driving has described how the car they were in went out of control after bouncing "fiercely and aggressively" as it went over some rumble strips.
Nathan James Morris told Swansea Crown Court how he lost control of his Peugeot 106 on the Penally bypass, near Tenby, last February.
His passenger, 20-year-old Gavin Collier, died instantly when the vehicle hit a parked Isuzu Trooper and a wall.
Mr Collier had travelled from Neath after seeing the Peugeot advertised for sale and the fatality happened when Morris was demonstrating the car during a test drive.
The prosecution case is that 25-year-old Morris, from Tenby, was driving "very fast" — at up to 75mph — moments before the crash
But on day three of his trial he was adamant that he was travelling at no more than 60 to 65 mph.
Questioned
Morris admits causing death by careless driving, but denies a more serious charge of causing death by dangerous driving.
Questioned yesterday by his barrister, Jim Davis , Morris said the Peugeot was ten years old when he bought it in 2008.
When a new rear axle was put on the car, a fitter advised him that there was "slight wear" in the bushes on one or both of the rear shock absorbers, but the car passed its MoT test in February 2009.
Morris said that early last year he decided to sell the car because he was a student and needed money.
When he advertised it on a specialist website, he made it clear there were "a couple of months left on the tax" but an MoT test was due "at the end of February".
Morris said arrangements were made for potential purchaser Mr Collier to see it on February 17.
In a text he had informed Mr Collier about the shock absorber bushes, he said, and when they met he mentioned that if Mr Collier were to buy the car he would need to "keep an eye on them".
Morris said that when Mr Collier asked if he could take the car on a test drive he gave his consent and the two of them set off with Mr Collier at the wheel.
Before they set off, said Morris, Mr Collier assured him he was insured.
Morris told Mr Collier he did not want them to go "particularly far" — because he did not know the exact date when a new MoT was due.
Morris told the court that during the trip Mr Collier revealed that he "wasn't actually insured at the moment".
After hearing this, Morris asked Mr Collier to pull in and turn around at a lay-by. They then swapped seats, put their safety belts back on and Morris took over the driving for the return journey.
Fast
"It's quite a fast road and you don't dawdle on it," Morris told Mr Davis. "So I accelerated up through the gears quite quickly and was doing 60 to 65mph at the end of it as I went into a left-hand bend."
Morris said that as he approached a 50mph zone he took his foot off the accelerator. But as the Peugeot went over some rumble strips, its back end "bounced fiercely and aggressively" and went to the middle of the road.
"I tried to counteract the slide by turning half to the right and I put my foot on the accelerator to moderately accelerate," said Morris.
"I spun the wheel and I was literally on full-lock to the right.
"The car had been going broadside but I could not straighten the wheel quite enough to catch it and the whole car spun the other way.
"I hit the brakes when the car went beyond the point where I could not catch it. Then there was a bang and I can't really remember what happened after that."
Morris said his next recollection was waking up at Cardiff's Heath Hospital, having been airlifted there.
He rejected claims made by eye-witnesses that he had been driving "very fast" before the crash.
The verdict was expected today.
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