Dash-cam footage shows man driving erratically before killing grandfather in collision

Watch: Shocking dash-cam footage captured a man driving significantly above the speed limit before killing a pedestrian in a collision.

Dash-cam footage has been released of a man driving erratically just moments before a fatal collision with a pedestrian.

Jakedene Loveridge, 23, struck and killed Richard Ieuan Williams while driving dangerously in Pensarn, Conwy. Loveridge admitted to dangerous driving, which resulted in the death of "much-loved father" and grandfather, Mr Williams.

The judge at Mold Crown Court, who jailed Loveridge for six years, condemned his driving as “utterly appalling” and said he had been “showing off."

Loveridge, of Swell Close, West Huntspill, Highbridge, Somerset, had been on his second trip to visit a girlfriend he met on a dating app.

On 20 November 2021, he collected her and two men in his BMW, and was driving from the Rhyl area over the Foryd Bridge towards Pensarn in darkness.

"It was as though he had a death-wish.”

Prosecutor Brian Treadwell said the defendant had been travelling at 53mph to 55mph in a 30mph zone when he reached A548 Marine Road in Pensarn that night.

Loveridge also sped at up to 90mph in a 40mph zone and crossed double white lines in the middle of the road, the court heard.

Mr Williams, 63, of Pensarn, was crossing the road when the BMW hit him, knocking him onto the pavement catapulting him into a wall. Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A witness at Mold Crown Court called the driving “scary”, saying: “It was as though he had a death-wish.”

One of the BMW’s occupants later told police: “It was as though (Loveridge) was in the computer game Grand Theft Auto.”

Loveridge continued driving after the collision and did not stop, the court heard. He was later arrested after police found his vehicle nearby.

"There are no winners here."

Sgt Emlyn Hughes, a senior investigating officer at North Wales Police (NWP)'s Roads Policing Unit, issued a statement following the sentencing:

“A family have been truly devastated by their loss of a much-loved father and our thoughts are very much with them.

"Although no prison sentence can ever bring Mr Williams back, I do hope that this brings them some closure."

“Jakedene Loveridge had no previous convictions but he is now in prison because of his reckless actions that night. There are no winners here, only life-changing consequences for all involved.”

Loveridge was also disqualified from driving for seven years.

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