Jenna Miller, 30, was pulling out of a petrol station when she was hit by an Audi A5 driven by Jamie Oaten, 24, as he tore along a road in Barry, South Wales
A security worker has been convicted of killing an innocent mother-of-two as he raced an Audi driver from traffic lights.
Joseph Fettah, 20, staged an ‘impromptu race’ with friend Jamie Oaten, 24, moments before Jenna Miller, 30, was killed as she pulled out of a petrol station in Barry, South Wales.
Oaten’s Audi A5 smashed into Ms Miller’s Mazda 6, leaving her with devastating injuries, during the horror crash in September last year, Cardiff Crown Court heard.
But while Oaten has admitted causing death by dangerous driving, Fettah, from Rhoose, near Barry, denied the charge.
Fettah was today convicted of causing death by dangerous driving.
After the verdict Ms Miller’s family said: ‘It was extremely difficult for us to have to sit through the trial listening to him trying to squirm out of his responsibilities.
‘We now look forward to overcoming the final hurdle when the two offenders will be sentenced, and hopefully handed a lengthy prison term.’
Detective Constable Matthew Lindsey, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: ‘Our thoughts are with the family of Jenna Miller, who have shown great dignity and courage throughout the court proceedings.
‘This tragic case highlights the dangers of racing on our roads.
‘Young people, and indeed drivers of all ages, need to understand that if you speed, you’re putting your own and other people’s lives at risk.
‘Whether it is racing along a seemingly quiet road, or driving just a few miles-an-hour over the speed limit, it is a risk that is simply not worth taking.
‘In this particular case, the reckless actions of two thrill-seeking drivers have robbed two young boys of their mother and family members and friends of a loved one.’
Security worker Fettah told a jury at Cardiff Crown Court that he and Oaten were not friends and had never met each other.
He denies trying to race him after the lights turned green at Barry, South Wales, in September last year.
Fettah (left on holiday and right, outside Cardiff Crown Court) denied causing death by dangerous driving, but Oaten has pleaded guilty to the charge
He said: ‘I wasn’t accelerating to keep up with him.
‘I didn’t feel like I was pushing my car harder. I thought to myself that he was going a bit too fast.’
Fettah said that after the crash he left because he did not want to get himself involved.
He was driving a VW Golf owned by his father’s company, and was on his way to drop it at a garage to have repair work done on both rear tyres.
He said: ‘I didn’t want to get myself involved.
‘I didn’t know that anyone was seriously hurt at the time.’
Fettah said he still attended the birthday party but did not drink and left after a short while because he was shocked.
He said: ‘I was going off to a birthday party. I didn’t know it had been a fatal road accident.
Jamie Oaten (left) and his friend Joseph Fettah (right), 20, staged an ‘impromptu race’ moments before the horror crash, Cardiff Crown Court was told
‘I didn’t drink and I left within two hours. I was quite shocked. I was shocked by what I saw – the Audi was going too fast.’
Prosecutor Matthew Cobbe said that a collision expert’s judgement was that both men were accelerating at maximum capacity before the crash.
Mr Cobbe said: ‘Jamie Oaten is not solely responsible for the collision.
‘He was driving at excessive speed because he got himself involved in an impromptu race with Joseph Fettah.
‘It was one young man encouraging another young man to drive faster and faster, accelerating hard with their focus on each other and the race, and not on other road users.
‘That impromptu race led to the collision and the death of Mrs Miller.’
Mrs Miller was innocently pulling out of a petrol station when she was hit by the Audi A5 on the 30mph road.
Mrs Miller, a mother to two boys aged seven and 10, was cut from her car and taken to hospital but tragically died as a result of the injuries.
Cardiff Crown Court heard that Oaten, of Barry, has already pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
Fettah, of Rhoose, near Barry, denied causing death by dangerous driving but was found guilty. Both will be sentenced later.