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A man from Rhymney has been jailed for three years and nine months after admitting to causing the death of a teenage girl while under the influence of drink and drugs.
Keilan Roberts, 22, from Maes-y-Haf, Rhymney, crashed a car in which Chloe Hayman, 17, from Mountain Ash, was a passenger.
The court heard that Roberts and Ms Hayman did not know each other prior to the crash, meeting at a nightclub in Pontypridd.
Roberts crashed his Skoda Octavia in the early hours of July 24, 2022 after drinking alcohol and taking cocaine, ketamine and MDMA
Ms Hayman died at the scene in Fochriw at around 5.05am on July 24, 2022.
“Chloe and I had a special bond”
Ms Hayman was described by her family members as “beautiful” and someone who lived life to the full.
Personal statements were read in court by Ms Hayman’s mother and stepmother.
Danielle O’Halloran, Ms Hayman’s mother, was tearful was she read her statement and said: “I pined for her that morning…and I’ve pined for her ever since.
“Chloe was the only person I trusted and felt safe with,” Ms O’Halloran added, “Chloe and I had a special bond we were the life and soul of our little home.”
Speaking directly to Roberts, who was crying, she added: “I do forgive you – I just want you to learn”.
Ms Hayman’s stepmother, Alix Hayman also read a personal statement and said: “Chloe was just starting to think about what life she wanted.”
Speaking on behalf of Ms Hayman’s father, Gavin, she continued: “Chloe could never do any wrong in Gav’s eyes,” adding that the two were similar in personality and that he feels a “forever sadness” that he will never see Chloe grow up.
Gavin and Alix Hayman’s eight-year-old son now also suffers from anxiety about losing people and being in a car.
Speaking to Roberts she said: “I can only hope that the guilt and shame lives with you for the rest of your life.”
Alcohol, cocaine, ketamine and MDMA
Speaking for the prosecution, Jason Howells described the events to the court.
On July 23 Roberts went to a club in Pontypridd at around 7pm. He left his car in Deri and was driven to Pontypridd by a friend.
Mr Howells said while at the club, Platform 11, Roberts consumed alcohol, cocaine, ketamine and MDMA.
Though Roberts was at the club with his girlfriend, they had argued and she went home early.
Ms Hayman’s cousin who worked at the club found her alone and crying at 3am. Ms Hayman said she had no way of getting home.
Ms Hayman ultimately ended up getting the same preplanned lift as Roberts. He could later “not recall” how they ended up leaving the club together.
“Drunk and sleepy”
Roberts, a friend and Ms Hayman were picked up at Pontypridd at 4am on the morning of July 24, after leaving the club.
Howells, for the prosecution, said that three were said to be “drunk and sleepy” but that Ms Hayman was “not as drunk as the defendant”.
In the car ride Roberts and Ms Hayman kissed and the group also stopped along the way to purchase alcohol.
In Deri, Roberts asked his friend to stop so that he could collect something from his car but instead got into his car with Ms Hayman and began to drive it in the direction of Fochriw on the way to Rhymney.
Later, Roberts said that he had planned to take Ms Hayman to his Rhymney home so that they could “get to know each other better”.
Concerned, Roberts’ friend had followed them.
As the vehicle entered Fochriw, Roberts lost control of the Skoda Octavia and collided with the protective railings on a cattle grid, which pierced the windscreen of the car.
Tried to “frustrate” police investigation
Ms Hayman, who was 17 at the time, died at the scene.
A local, Barry Rees went to the scene after hearing and seeing something from his home.
Mr Howells said that Mr Rees reported seeing the defendant sitting drinking lager when he approached the scene.
When Mr Rees asked Roberts if he was alright he responded: “Do I fucking look like I’m alright?”
Roberts called the emergency services but prior to their arrival drank alcohol at the scene.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge David Wynn Morgan said that Roberts had tried to “frustrate the inevitable attempts by the police to establish the precise level of your intoxication” by drinking alcohol rather than to “take the edge off things” as Roberts had suggested.
Mitigating circumstances
Jeffrey Jones, for the defence, asked the court for a “proportionate sentence”.
Mr Jones presented mitigating circumstances to the court to take into consideration upon sentencing.
These included Roberts calling the emergency services, staying at the scene and showing sorrow and regret at the police station and again in his interview.
Mr Jones added: “The defendant is very sorry to the entire family of Chloe Hayman. He instructs that he cannot forgive himself.”
Mr Jones said the crash happened when the defendant was 21, an age where he “still has time to mature”.
The defendant had a “fractured and relatively sad childhood until being cared for by his grandparents”.
‘Aggravated’ factors
Attempts to “frustrate” the police investigation by drinking alcohol was one of two “aggravated” factors that affected the sentencing, according to Judge David Wynn Morgan.
Though evidence showed Roberts lost control through “momentary inadvertence”, Mr Robert’s vehicle was also a factor – it would have failed an MOT and was not in a “fit state”, according to a police expert.
In sentencing, Judge David Wynn Morgan said to Roberts: “Anxiety was expressed that Chloe would become just another statistic. Chloe Hayman is no statistic.
“She was a real living person, who would be alive today had you not taken the selfish, criminally foolish, and intoxicated decision to put her in your car and drive it.”
As Roberts was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison and banned from driving for ten years, Judge David Wynn Morgan added: “The sentence handed down will seem inadequate
“It is inadequate for the simple reason that no sentence will have the effect of restoring Chloe Hayman to her loved ones.”
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