Chilling moment coward driver flees wreckage leaving fiancée to die – before callously blaming horror crash on her
THIS is the chilling moment a cowardly driver fled a car wreckage leaving his fiancée to die – before blaming her for the collision.
Cameron Jones, 30, went on the run after the tragic crash and was jailed for 10 years for killing his girlfriend Demi Leigh Mabbitt.
Demi, 25, was thrown 27 metres from the ruined car and died from her injuries a week after the crash.
Jones – who was a banned driver – was driving an Audi S3 at motorway speeds on residential roads that were 20mph.
One fellow motorist estimated he had driven at speeds between 100-120mph.
The car then aquaplaned and crashed into a boundary wall due to his excessive speed, the wet road conditions and insufficient tread on the rear tyres.
After the crash Jones tried to cover his tracks and told witnesses: “I need to get the guy who was driving the car” and “My missus just crashed the car”.
Chad Pop, a motorist who saw the aftermath of the incident described the scene as “like a bomb had gone off” and “there were car parts everywhere”.
Another witness found Demi lying on the side of the road with “serious” injuries and performed CPR until she was taken to hospital.
Jones then fled the scene leaving Demi, who had suffered extensive injuries, alone.
Abigail Jackson, prosecuting, said that Demi was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff and assessed as having an “extensive head injury”.
She was treated by the critical care team but her condition became “worse” and an ultrasound scan of her heart showed abnormalities.
She was pronounced dead on April 12 at 11.20am – a week after the crash.
Three weeks after the incident Jones eventually surrendered himself at a police station on April 28 of this year.
During a police interview he answered no comment to all questions but admitted he was the driver of the Audi.
CCTV footage showed Jones driving the car and him fleeing the scene and DNA evidence from the car corroborated that he was the driver.
Her dad Paul Mabbitt read a statement on behalf of his family who have been “torn apart” by her death in court.
Through tears he described Demi as a “wonderful” daughter, granddaughter, sister, auntie and cousin
He said she “had the most amazing laugh and put a smile on everyone’s face”.
He told Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court Demi and Jones had been dating for four years – although they did “not approve” of him.
You have taken Demi from my family and for that I will never forgive you.
Paul Mabbitt
Speaking directly to Jones he said: “You have taken Demi from my family and for that I will never forgive you.”
Demi’s sister Gemma described her as “my little best friend” and said “she was the best sister with a heart of gold”.
She added: “She trusted too much and fell for the wrong person.”
The crash happened on Swansea Road in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, on April 5 at around 11.45pm.
Jones, of Merthyr, admitted death by dangerous driving, causing death by driving while uninsured and causing death by driving while disqualified
He also pleaded guilty to being driver of a vehicle which failed to stop after a road accident and driver of a vehicle involved in a road accident which failed to report that accident.
Andrew Davies, defending, said Jones understands the “incurable hurt and pain of his actions” and is “devastated by the consequences of his driving.”
Judge Jeremy Jenkins told Jones that his actions were “deliberate and dangerous,” adding: “You did not seem to have any regard for Ms Mabbitt or her condition.”
He said that his actions “were inhuman and self centred” and that Jones showed “total cowardice” by running away.
Jones was sentenced today to 10 years and was also disqualified from driving for the same period.
