Teen avoids jail after crash leaves three with serious injuries

Nation.Cymru staff

A teenager who caused serious injuries to three passengers in a crash on Christmas Eve has been given a suspended sentence.

Harley Ryan, 19, was 18 at the time of the incident in December 2024, when he lost control of his car while driving at speed along Kinnerton Road between Pen-y-Ffordd and Kinnerton.

The court heard Ryan had been travelling with three passengers when the vehicle veered off the road, entered a ditch, overturned and came to rest on its roof further along the carriageway.

All three passengers suffered serious injuries.

At court on Thursday, Ryan was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years. He was also banned from driving for two years and ordered to comply with a curfew between 7pm and 7am for three months, monitored by an electronic tag.

North Wales Police said the case highlighted the dangers associated with excessive speed and inexperienced drivers.

Detective Inspector Timothy Evans, from the force’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said it was fortunate the crash had not resulted in fatalities.

“It was miraculous that we were not dealing with the deaths of four young people on Christmas Eve 2024,” he said.

He praised the emergency services for their response and the work of officers involved in investigating the incident.

“The risks posed by young and inexperienced drivers to themselves, passengers and other road users concerns me, and this case highlights the personal accountability of an individual’s actions behind the wheel,” he added.

He also urged families to discuss road safety, noting that peer pressure could play a role in decisions about accepting lifts from other drivers.

The collision took place on a stretch of road locally known as the “Kinnerton Bumps”.