Swansea death crash driver, 91, had previous collision

Six months before Mr Griffiths' death, Hughes' car had been written off after he pulled out of the same forecourt and hit a vehicle

A 91-year-old driver who caused a man's death by crashing into him at a petrol station had been involved in a collision at the same location six months earlier, an inquest heard.

Brian Griffiths, 66, was hit by Howell Hughes' car as he used a cash machine in Swansea on 30 September 2019.

In May, Hughes was handed a 10-month suspended sentence for causing death by careless driving.

Coroner Colin Phillip told the Swansea inquest it was a "horrific" accident.

Mr Griffiths, a senior lecturer and dean at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David's, died three days after being hit outside the Tesco petrol station on Bryn y Mor road in Gowerton.

The inquest heard how minutes before the crash Hughes had tried to get money from the same cash point, but his card was rejected and he went into complain.

Witnesses described how when he went to leave the forecourt his car accelerated towards the cash point, pinning Mr Griffiths against the wall.

PC Alun Efstathiou, from South Wales Police's crash investigation unit, said a member of the public had reached in to the car and pulled it out of gear to move it away from the wall. He said the driver was "struggling to get the car into gear to reverse it", adding that the car was moving back and forth. The inquest heard Mr Hughes had no medical episodes at the time which may have caused him to crash and there were no mechanical issues with the car.

Brian Griffiths suffered leg fractures and vascular injuries and died from his injuries in hospital

During a police interview, Mr Hughes denied he had put his foot on the accelerator instead of the brake, but during his Crown Court appearance said he believed he must have made that mistake.

Mr Griffiths' family said they did not blame Hughes, and did not want him to go to jail because of his age. Speaking directly to Mr Griffiths' wife, the coroner said he could not "comprehend" how difficult it must have been for her to see her husband hit. Mr Phillips concluded that an opportunity might have been missed to assess Mr Hughes' fitness to drive following his crash six months earlier. He said he would write to South Wales Police to suggest elderly drivers are referred for a driving assessment if they are involved in a crash.

He said six months before Mr Griffiths' death, Hughes' car had been written off after he pulled out of the same forecourt in Gowerton and hit a vehicle.

Nobody was injured on that occasion.

He told Mr Griffiths' family any change in policy would have to be a UK government decision and not something he could change.

Currently, all drivers over the age of 70 must renew their driving licence every three years.

The coroner recorded a conclusion that Mr Griffiths had died in a road traffic collision.