CCTV captures moment drug driver hits Carmarthenshire couple causing life-changing injuries

*Warning: Footage and pictures which viewers might find distressing*

Dramatic CCTV footage shows the moment a husband and wife were almost killed after a drug-driver collided with them while on the wrong side of the road. 

Richard and Alison Amner were travelling along Ferry Road, Kidwelly on 16 July when they were flung from their motorbike after being hit by Matthew Bell - who tested positive for having cocaine and cannabis in his system.

Mrs Amner was thrown eight feet into the air and landed on a garden wall, while her husband suffered a triple open fracture of his femur amongst other life-changing injuries. 

  • Video report by Dot Davies & produced by Sian Vivian

Four months after the collision, the pair still require the use of a wheelchair and daily visits from carers.

The couple have undergone more than 20 blood transfusions and told S4C’s Y Byd Ar Bedwar there were times they feared for their lives. 

“There were stages I didn’t think coming home would happen,” says 58-year-old Richard Amner.

The moment Alison and Richard Amner were reunited at their daughter’s home after three months at hospital. Credit: Family photo

His wife, Alison, 55, added: “I have a pin and plate in the leg, I have a plate in my hand, I broke my finger, my nose, nine ribs and a punctured lung.”

“We were so used to doing everything ourselves and now we rely on other people to do things for us. Like washing us, making food for us, helping put clothes on, brushing my hair. My hand doesn’t work like it used to. And that’s what’s painful, not being able to do what I used to do with my hand.”

Alison Amner with her daughters, Kara & Jody recovering in hospital. Credit: Family photo

Their 29-year-old daughter Jody is now caring for her parents at her home in Carmarthenshire.

“I never thought in my 20s I’d be caring for my parents…”

Richard and Alison’s own house is now undergoing major renovations to adapt to their injuries, including installing a wet room near the kitchen. 

A fundraising campaign has also been set up to support the couple, especially as they are unable to work following the accident. 

Matthew Bell had a string of previous driving convictions and tested postive for cannabis & cocaine at the scene.

Matthew Bell was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment at Swansea Crown Court after admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving whilst unfit through drugs, driving without a licence and driving without insurance. Bell will serve half in prison with the other half on licence. 

He was also handed an extended driving ban, meaning he is disqualified from driving for a total of five years and three months.

How many arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs were there between January 2021 and September 2022?

The couple are now calling for tougher prison sentences for drivers who seriously injure while under the influence of drink or drugs.

“The convictions that he’s had, he’s done it more than once, over 60 odd convictions and still continuing to drive the road and this is what he did, “ said Alison Amner. 

“It needs to change. He’ll be able to get up, he’ll be able to get washed and dressed, he’ll have food handed to him. It’s just not enough.” 

The family’s local MP, Nia Griffith, raised the case to the Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab, in Parliament on 22 November.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Dangerous driving puts lives at risk which is why we increased the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving from 14 years to life imprisonment.

“Judges decide sentences following guidelines set by the independent Sentencing Council. They recently consulted on changes to motoring offence sentencing, including causing serious injury by dangerous driving.”

  • Watch the full programme, Y Byd ar Bedwar, at 8pm on S4C, S4C Clic and iPlayer. The programme has English subtitles.