Death crash driver 'lost control'

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An 18-year-old accused of killing four girls in a crash days after passing his test told police he had lost control of his car, Cardiff Crown Court has heard.

Craig Ramshaw, from Ebbw Vale, was on a mountain road when the car left the carriageway and flipped over.

Back seat passengers and school friends Louise Jones and Kayleigh Parry, who were 16, and Katie Roberts and Danielle Caswell, 15, all died.

Mr Ramshaw denies causing the deaths by dangerous driving.

The trial was told that, speaking to police officers from his bed in Nevill Hall Hospital, Abergavenny, on the night of the accident, Mr Ramshaw said he had lost control when going up a hill.

The jury was told he said: "I lost control of the car when the back wheel went into the gutter on the left-hand side.

'Slippery underfoot'

"I lost control of the car trying to brake and the next thing I know I'm here."

On Wednesday the jury was taken to the scene of last November's fatal crash on the B4560 between Llangynidr and Beaufort, where they examined the scene on foot.

Later on Wednesday, the trial heard one police officer describe road conditions on the night of the crash as "slippery".

Det Con Nicola Ryan, of Dyfed-Powys Police, who arrived on the scene just after midnight on 3 November, said: "It was noticeably much colder than Caerphilly, where I had travelled from.

"The road was slippery underfoot. I presumed the road was icy, but I didn't see any."

The four girls were pupils at the same Ebbw Vale school

But Pc Sarah Ross, of Dyfed-Powys Police, said the traction on her police vehicle was good despite it feeling cold.

She said it was dry at the time, and that there was "no slipperiness or ice".

The court has been told that the four girls were in the back of Mr Ramshaw's Vauxhall Corsa and were not wearing safety belts when the car left the mountain road near Ebbw Vale.

Their bodies were thrown up to 18m (59ft) from the car as it flipped over a number of times.

Pc Ross told the court there were fresh tyre marks on the roadside and the Vauxhall Corsa was in a direct line with the marks.

The prosecution alleges Mr Ramshaw was "showing off" as he drove his mother's car at "considerable speed" three days after passing his test.

Mr Ramshaw and another teenage front seat passenger were both wearing seat belts and survived the crash with minor injuries.

The girls who died were all pupils at Glyncoed Comprehensive School, Ebbw Vale.

The trial continues.