Morgan Osbourne, 18, died on a dangerous mountain road after he ‘slid’ across the central white line – just four months after passing his test, an inquest heard
A teenage boy died in a horrific crash on a mountain bend just four months after passing his test, an inquest heard.
Morgan Osbourne, 18, died on a dangerous mountain road after he “slid” across the central white line. An inquest heard his passenger friend, who is unnamed, told him to slow down in his burgundy Ford Fiesta – but Morgan replied: “I’m trying.”
The pair smashed into an oncoming silver Nissan Qashqai four months after Morgan has passed his test just four months before the horror smash near Gilfach Goch, South Wales. Oncoming driver Sami Kearns said he heard a “bang” as he drove around the bend and crashed head-on into Morgan’s car.
He said: “I got out of my car within a minute. I was worried about a car coming at speed around the bend and not seeing the crash initially. My car was pushed right onto the grass verge. Morgan’s car was majority in my lane. The back left hand side of his car was still partially over the central line.”
Mr Kearns said he spoke briefly to Morgan’s friend who he believed was in “shock” after the crash in October 2022. He added: “I always go between 30 to 40 on that bend. I know how dangerous that bend is. I know how many crashes there have been on that bend and I’m a very cautious driver.”
The inquest heard fellow driver Jonathan Guy got out of his car to approach the scene when Mr Kearns told him: “It’s my fault.” Mr Guy said: “He kept apologising. He said he looked down whilst driving and when he looked up he was over the white line. When we started to help him he said: ‘This is my fault. It’s my fault.'”
The inquest heard a registered nurse got out to help Morgan following the crash but found “no signs of life” as she approached the car. She said he was slumped over the wheel wearing a seatbelt with “a lot of trauma to his face.”
The inquest heard other passers-by helped to pulled his wedged car door open before desperately attempting CPR. Morgan was rushed to hospital where scans showed he had suffered a hypoxic brain injury. He died 14 days later on October 20.
A provisional cause of death was given as pneumothorax after traumatic cardiac arrest leading to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy The inquest in Pontypridd continues.
