CCTV captures final moments of pensioner, 84, before he was hit by 96-year-old driver in Caerphilly

Shuffling along the pavement, CCTV captured moments before the fatal collision show the unmistakably frail form of Iltyd Morgan.

Aged 84, and using a walker for help, the pensioner moves slowly towards Bedwas Road in Caerphilly.

He steps onto the road, and moments later, a blue Peugeot car can be seen approaching from his left.

The collision that happened seconds later left Mr Morgan with fatal injuries.

The man behind the wheel that day was another pensioner, 96-year-old William Beer.

Newport Crown Court heard that Mr Beer had been advised by opticians in 2019 not to continue driving.

At a sight test that March, his vision had been found to be below the required standard and his ability to read “very poor.”

A later hospital examination showed that Mr Beer had age-related macular degeneration and cataract behind one eye, but that surgery to remove it would be impossible.

Despite this, in November of that year, Mr Beer returned to driving after saying his vision had been improved by a course of injections.

But on the day of the collision, police found that the defendant’s eyesight was still well below the legal standard.

Police at the scene found he could only read the last three letters of a number plate from a seven-metre distance, not from the 20 metres required by law.

Officers took him home and his license was revoked.

Mr Beer later said that was sleeting on the day of the incident. But experts said he should have had “ample time” to stop given the conditions. 

Today William Beer - who’s now 20 days short of his 97th birthday - appeared at Newport Crown Court after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

Victim Impact statements were read to the court, including one from Mr Morgan’s son Gareth, who said that his father’s death had caused him “anguish” and led to him making plans to take his own life.

Mr Morgan’s wife said the victim was “not just her husband but her friend”, and that she “couldn’t believe he wasn’t coming home” after 58 happy years.

Giving evidence at today’s hearing, Mr Beer said he thought his vision had been improved by the injections he’d received.

The court heard that he’s been his wife’s full time carer until her recent death, and that he was a “loved father, grandfather and great-grandfather.”

But in sentencing, judge His Honour Richard Williams said that he “was sure” that Mr Beer knew his eyesight was not good enough to drive and that he’d failed to bring his disability to the notice of the authorities. A “selfish decision” which, the judge said, had had a “devastating effect on Mr Morgan’s family. 

William Beer was sentenced to 28 months in prison and disqualified from driving for 6 years and 2 months. 

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