‘Over-indulging’ dad who took son’s speeding points blasted by judge after teen killed two pals in personalised £21k car
A DAD who took his son’s speeding points has been slammed after the teen killed two friends in a horror smash.
Owain Hammett-George had been driving just three months when he lost control of his personalised £21,000 Alfa Romeo MiTo.
The teen was driving at double the speed limit before he crashed into a concrete pillar – killing Ben Rogers and Kaitlyn Davies, both 19.
A judge said Hammett-George had been “over-indulged” by his parents, who bought him the flash motor when he passed his test.
His businessman dad Dewi had taken the blame when his son was caught speeding just a week after passing his test.
Hammett-George went on to kill Ben and Kaitlyn in the 78mph crash in Glamorgan, Wales, just months later.
Jailing the 19-year-old for six years, Judge Geraint Walters said: “You are over-indulged: a car before you were fit to have one, out late in the evening with other youngsters in the car, and it’s not irrelevant to point to evidence that your parents were aware of the danger. There were messages between family members to say so.
“It’s not irrelevant either that within a very short period of passing your test you were to be prosecuted for speeding. It was a sign of what might be to come.
“The greatest act of over-indulgence is the taking of taking the responsibility of your conduct onto your father – a choice he made but it underlines the over-indulgence that lies at the heart of this offence.”
Swansea Crown Court heard Hammett-George had picked up Kaitlyn, Ben and a third passenger at around 10pm on May 31, 2022.
The car, which had the number plate OW11AAN, reached speeds of up to 78mph in a 30mph zone.
Hammett-George then lost control – veering off the road on to a petrol forecourt where the car flipped and smashed into a pillar.
The teen, who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, Ben and Kaitlyn were catapulted from the vehicle – causing the tragic pair catastrophic injuries.
Hammett-George sustained a brain injury and broken neck, while the third passenger was left with life-changing injuries.
He initially told police he had been driving at 60mph and had lost control on striking a pot-hole but this has never been found.
The court was told he also “vastly underestimated” his speed and had been warned about his driving by his mum and sister just weeks before the horror.
In a victim impact statement, Ben’s mum Carla King said: “Ben was my only son. He was full of kindness and a social butterfly. I don’t want to get out of bed – I don’t want to face the world.
“I am a shadow of the person I used to be. The fact I will never see him smile again is crippling. I can’t comprehend that I will never see my son or hear his voice again.”
While Kaitlyn’s mum Kimberly Davies told the court: “She was an amazing human being with a wonderful sense of humour.
“She was very kind, caring, and loving. Every day is a constant struggle. Life is so hard not having her by my side.
“She would light up every room she entered. I cannot even go into her bedroom without crying. The pain is indescribable.”
Hammett-George admitted causing death by dangerous driving, death by careless driving, and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
As well as a jail sentence, he was handed an eight-year driving ban.