Rebecca Evans: Man jailed for causing M4 crash death

A man has been jailed for three years for killing a heavily pregnant mother in a crash on the M4.

Rebecca Evans, 27, from Bridgend, was eight months pregnant when she died at the scene near Port Talbot in 2016.

Her two-year-old son Cian survived the crash but was seriously injured.

Craig John Scott, 51, from Cardiff, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving at Swansea Crown Court.

Ms Evans was a front seat passenger in a Peugeot 407 driven by her partner Alex Evans at 08:00 on 29 November.

The couple were driving to drop off Cian - who was in the back of the car - at his grandmother's house, before heading to work at the homeless charity Shelter Cymru.

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Rebecca Evans was pronounced dead about 45 minutes after the crash

The family's car stopped on the westbound carriageway before Scott's BMW ploughed into them.

Mr Evans saw Scott's car in his rear view mirror and said "I don't think he's slowing down" before he heard an "almighty bang".

He recalled seeing people pulling Ms Evans from the car, saying: "I saw blood on her dress and I knew then that our daughter had gone. I knew that straight away but not in a million years did I think I would lose Becca."

Cian was airlifted to Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales where he was found to have bleeding between his brain and skull, a depressed skull fracture and fractured legs.

He recovered from the crash and met Prince Charles in February.

The jury heard Scott was not paying attention and eyewitnesses said his brake lights did not come on.

They were also told he made two hands-free phone calls prior to the crash, but his defence counsel said the calls - made using controls on the steering wheel - ended before the crash.

Ms Evans' son Cian met Prince Charles after recovering from his injuries

Scott - who was on his way to work at Baglan Bay Power Station - blamed the crash on taking his eyes off the road for a second after he became distracted by a mystery object on a bridge overhead.

The court heard the couple, who had been together for nine years, were due to move into a new home together and Mr Evans planned to propose in the New Year.

Mr Evans described the "mental torture" of trying to come to terms with Ms Evans's death and how he "spiralled into a deep dark depression".

Ms Evans's mother Meryl spoke of the pain her family faced that Christmas seeing an empty chair at the table and her grandson Cian regularly asked for his mother - who he thought now "lives in sky".

"He just doesn't understand why he can't go to the sky and fix her," she added.

Craig John Scott has been banned from driving for five years

Collision investigator Matthew Deschoolmeester said while it was not illegal to make a hands-free call, South Wales Police advised people "not to use their phone at all while driving".

Judge Keith Thomas said Scott had taken his eyes off the road for a "relatively substantial period of time".

He added: "I do not know what it was that caused you to take your eyes off the road. But whatever it was it was a decision of your own making that was wholly unnecessary."

Scott was also disqualified from driving for five years.

Ms Evans worked at Shelter Cymru and was a dance teacher at the Ammanford-based Encore stage school