Hairdresser Sarah-Jayne Thomas, 28, was being taken home by Tim Grace, 31, when the £60k car smashed into a tree in Bridgend, South Wales
A YOUNG couple were killed on their first date in a horror motorway smash in a BMW after downing wine and cocktails in a plush casino, an inquest heard,
Hairdresser Sarah-Jayne Thomas, 28, was being taken home 45 miles from their boozy first date by learner driver Tim Grace, 31, before the smash at up to 102mph in the borrowed £60,000 car.
Tim was seen by staff at a restaurant ordering two bottles of Chardonnay wine with lunch before drinking cocktails at the Grosvenor Casino in Cardiff Bay with date Sarah-Jayne.
As the pair drove home, Tim raced the borrowed BMW X5 along the fast lane of the M4 motorway - police investigators estimated their speed to be in the region of 88 to 102 mph.
The powerful BMW veered wildly across three lanes and slammed into a tree on the embankment at Bridgend, South Wales.
The carriageway was closed for seven hours while emergency crews tried to get the couple out of the car and clear the wreckage of the devastating crash.
Investigating officer Pc Alun Efstathiou told the hearing: "Tim would have faced charges if he had survived the accident.
"He was a learner driver with no third party insurance."
Fellow motorists spotted the car - and noted its excesive speed as it was driven by window cleaner Tim.
Michael Heath, who was driving on the M4 at the time said: “I’d only been on the motorway a few minutes when I saw the BMW X5 in my mirrors.
“After overtaking me, without any good reason, it swerved sharply to the left.
“The car then travelled up the embankment before hitting a tree with such a force that it bent over.”
PC Carlo Vaquerizo was the first at the scene and described the damage as “catastrophic”.
He said: “It was one of the worst incidents I’ve ever seen.”
Mum-of-two Sarah-Jayne, from Swansea, was found dead at the scene having suffered multiple injuries while Tim was airlifted to hospital.
But doctors at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff described his injuries as “unsurvivable”. He died early the next morning.
An inquest into the two deaths at Pontypridd coroners court heard the conditions were perfect, there were no defects on the road and the car was not at fault.
PC Alan Efstathiou of the serious collision investigation team revealed that father-of-two Tim shouldn’t have been driving at all because he did not have a licence.
He said: “He was convicted in 2017 of driving without a licence and without insurance.”
A toxicology report carried out in post mortem found that Tim was double the drink drive limit.
The pair were drinking at a Miller and Carter restaurant in Cardiff Bay.
Witness Louie Baker said: “The male ordered a Chardonnay bottle and two glasses while the female ordered an Absolut and raspberry cocktail.
“Shortly after the male ordered another bottle of the same wine.
“I remember commenting to the manager saying he had ordered a second bottle but had not been here that long.”
Phillip Smith, a bartender at the Grosvenor casino where the pair went next, said: “I served them both alcoholic cocktails.
“Both female and male appeared drunk and I asked my manager whether I should serve them any more alcohol but they did not return to order any more drinks.”
Brunette hairdresser Sarah-Jayne was described by heartbroken friends as an "amazing girl" and "fantastic mother".
Recording his conclusion, coroner Graeme Hughes said: “It seems to me that there is no direct evidence as to why Tim’s vehicle manoeuvred in the way that it did at the time.
“I am satisfied here that the consequences here leading to Sarah-Jayne’s death were as a result of a road traffic collision.
“But that road traffic collision was contributed to by the the alcohol drunk by Tim."
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