A man and a woman suffered catastrophic injuries and were killed after being struck by a car as they were lying and kneeling in the middle of a road. Both were found to be heavily intoxicated at the time of their death and were walking back to the man’s flat after getting on the wrong bus.
Kayleigh Cornwell, 32, and Jason Morgan, 32, were both struck and killed by a Ford Focus driven by Jonathan Owens in Pontypridd on January 27, 2023. An ambulance was called to the scene of the collision on the B4273 Ynysybwl Road but despite the best efforts of the emergency services both were pronounced dead at the scene.
An inquest at Pontypridd Coroners’ Court on Friday heard Ms Cornwell was born in Hampshire and lived with her stepmother, father, and three siblings following the separation of her parents. At 14 years old she moved out to live with a man and following the end of the relationship she moved to supported accommodation. She went on to have five children and relocated to south Wales to “begin afresh”.
Tracey Cornwell, Ms Cornwell’s stepmother, said her stepdaughter experienced difficult family circumstances which devastated her. Tracey Cornwell said it was at this time Ms Cornwell’s life “began to unravel” and she “began making poor decisions”. She was said to have “spiralled into a depressive state” and was drinking alcohol excessively and taking drugs.
Ms Cornwell’s family last heard from her via a text message during which she asked for money. Tracey Cornwell added: “We know there was no way Kayleigh would deliberately or intentionally put herself in the path of a car.” A statement from Ms Cornwell’s GP stated she was suffering from anxiety, depression, and alcohol misuse.
Mr Morgan’s mother Angela Morgan said her son was born and brought up in Glyncoch and was diagnosed with ADHD. He attended a special needs school was said to have “behaved badly” in his teenage years. Ms Morgan said her son started to “go downhill” in his 20s having developed a drug dependency and found himself homeless.
Prior to his death Mr Morgan had found accommodation, had begun a relationship, and was “turning his life around”. Ms Morgan said: “He was getting his life back and doing good before he was tragically and suddenly taken away from us.” A statement from Mr Morgan’s GP indicated he had a history of depression and drug misuse.
Amy Evans had been in a relationship with Mr Morgan for three years. On January 26, 2023, she said Mr Morgan attended her home for food and she could tell he had been drinking. He left shortly later. The next day she received a text from Mr Morgan which said: “I love you no matter what”. Later that day she received a call from Mr Morgan who was on a bus with Ms Cornwell and Leon Cole. She said he seemed drunk but in a good mood. She said Ms Cornwell grabbed the phone and told her: “Jason thinks the world of you”. Ms Evans said she ended the call as both Mr Morgan and Ms Cornwell seemed “rowdy”. She said: “That was the last time I spoke to him.”
In a statement read to the court Mr Cole said he met Ms Cornwell and Mr Morgan at Pontypridd bus station on January 27, 2023. He said Ms Cornwell had told him she had “tried crack” but thought it was “more than that”. All three took ketamine and got on a bus, which they wrongly believed was going to Glyncoch. Bus driver Aidan Dobbins said all three of them appeared “intoxicated” and described Ms Cornwell as “rowdy” and “barely able to keep her head up”.
Mr Morgan, Ms Cornwell, and Mr Cole got off at Ynysybwl having realised they were on the wrong bus. Bus passenger Kelsey Hibbert described the scene as “chaotic” with Ms Cornwell crying about a lost handbag and all three were talking about drugs. Tracey Gomer said she saw three people walking along New Road with a man and woman running back and forth into the road and thought they were “youngsters playing chicken”. She said: “I shouted: ‘Get off the road – you’re going to cause an accident'”. She said a man and woman were running into the road and banging on the side of the bus, which Ms Gomer described as “ridiculous”.
Mr Cole said the plan was to walk to Mr Morgan’s home in Glyncoch and he walked ahead of him and Ms Cornwell who were walking back and forth into the middle of the road. He said: “Jason would move into the road and Kayleigh would follow him – they were zig-zagging in and out… I said to Kayleigh: ‘You need to sort yourself out’ but they ignored me. I told them to get out of the road but they blanked me. I only told them once because they’re adults.”
A number of witnesses on foot and in passing cars described seeing three people walking along Ynysybwl Road who appeared intoxicated and were drifting in and out of the road. A number of drivers had to swerve in order to avoid the group.
Kelly Sweeney walked past the group and saw a man in the middle of the road. She described there being an “argument” and called her husband, saying: “One of these is going to end up dead.” She heard a loud bang and was told by her husband to walk back to see if she could help. Ms Sweeney said: “As I walked to the vehicle, it was a Ford Focus, and a woman was on the floor under the car with her head out in front. I think she was dead. I saw a male lying in the road with his head up and legs bent up. I stayed with him and wrapped a towel around his head. He was breathing and making noises.”
Focus driver Mr Owens said he was driving back home having picked his wife up from work and his two children were in the car. He described the road as “straight”. When asked if he could see anything the witness said: “Nothing. My lane was clear – there were no silhouettes or anybody obstructing my view.” Mr Owens added: “I just seen something come from left to right from the pavement and by that stage was the impact.” He said he was travelling between 40 and 45mph with the speed limit being 50mph. Describing the impact he said: “I applied the brakes but the time I applied the brakes the impact had happened and I shouted out a swear word.”
Jason Bales witnessed the collision having stopped his car after initially believing someone was pulling a dog out of the road or a mugging was taking place. He later realised there were three people with a woman lying in the road and a man kneeling over her. Another man appeared to be close to the two in the road. Mr Bales said: “As soon as I stopped a car came from the other side.”
He said the man lying in the road was struck towards him as the third man was hit into the bushes. The witness said the car didn’t appear to brake prior to the collision but was not speeding. When asked by coroner Graeme Hughes about the demeanour of the people in the road Mr Bales said: “I don’t think they had any idea of what was going on… I couldn’t move – I just didn’t want to look. I could just make out legs in the road.”
Describing being hit Mr Cole said: “Something hit me and I blanked out – I couldn’t tell you what but someone said it was the bumper of a car. I was walking down the road and woke up in the bushes with no trainers on. My body was stiff and an Irish woman helped me. I wanted to get up and see my friends but she wouldn’t let me. I knew something had happened… I had no recollection of seeing or hearing a car going towards them or knowledge of them being hit.”
Paramedic Michael Howells arrived at the scene at 6.41pm and described multiple people lying around a man on the floor and people stood around a car. He noted the man had suffered catastrophic head trauma and had injuries “incompatible with life”. The man was pronounced dead at 6.41pm. Mr Howells had been made aware of a woman trapped underneath a car and who could not be removed. On assessment the woman had no signs of life and had suffered catastrophic injuries. She was declared dead at 6.48pm.
A provisional cause of death for Mr Morgan was given as multiple blunt force injuries to the head, including a fractured skull, and to the trunk and legs. At the time of his death he was under the influence of alcohol, codeine, cocaine, amphetamine, ketamine, pregabalin, and paracetamol. He was just over twice the drink-drive limit.
A provisional cause of death for Ms Cornwell was given as multiple blunt force injuries including cardiac lacerations and injuries to the aorta. Her injuries indicated her body had been dragged on the road while trapped under the car. At the time of her death she was under the influence of alcohol, cocaine, ketamine, and pregabalin. She was more than three times the drink-drive limit.
Forensic collision investigator PC James Littlewood said he came to the conclusion that Ms Cornwell was lying down at the time of the collision and Mr Morgan was low to the ground or kneeling. He confirmed Mr Owens was likely travelling at around 45mph at the point of impact. The officer said Ms Cornwell was wearing a camouflaged jacket and jeans and Mr Morgan was wearing a black jacket and a white hat.
In his conclusion coroner Mr Hughes said: “I find both were intoxicated due to the level of ethanol and drugs they had consumed prior to the collision… The significance of such intoxication had a direct bearing on how they both came upon their deaths.”
He added: “It’s likely to have led to both Jason and Kayleigh becoming less inhibited, losing critical judgement, decreasing their reaction times, experiencing loss of muscle coordination and steadiness and those generic consequences of the effects of general intoxication are supported by those witness testimonies.
“As a consequence of them both being intoxicated this provides an explanation of how they both came to be in the carriageway when struck by Mr Owens’ vehicle on January 27, 2023. I am satisfied but for their intoxication they would not have likely therefore strayed in the road. Neither Jason or Kayleigh would have any legitimate reason for cause to be in the carriageway. As the witnesses attested to they did also have the benefit of a pavement they could have safely remained on and and not exposed themselves to risk of injury or death by straying into the carriageway.
“As a direct result of their intoxication and its evidenced effect once they placed themselves in peril on the carriageway they were incapacitated to such an extent they were unable to understand the significance of their dilemma and extricate themselves from the road to avoid oncoming traffic. I find once both had found themselves in peril on the carriageway what followed in terms of the collision between them both and Mr Owens’ vehicle was unavoidable. I accept his evidence that he did not see either Kayleigh or Jason prior to the collision and therefore had time to react and make an avoiding manoeuvre or brake in time.” The coroner recorded a conclusion in respect of both Mr Morgan and Ms Cornwell of a road traffic collision contributed to by a combined effect of alcohol and drugs.