Driver spared jail sentence over killing of young couple in crash

A man has been spared jail after killing a young couple who were headed on holiday in a crash.

Alexander MacCallum, 28, previously pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of Katie Worrell, 25, and Adam Muskett, 27, by careless driving.

Swansea Crown Court heard Miss Worrell and Mr Muskett were a couple and had been travelling on holiday to celebrate Miss Worrell’s birthday together.

Hidden in the car were balloons, banners and presents which Mr Muskett had brought to surprise his girlfriend, the court heard.

On Thursday 2 April, Judge Paul Thomas KC gave MacCallum a suspended sentence and disqualified him from driving for 18 months.

Miss Worrell, from Pembroke, and Mr Muskett, from Tenby, died after MacCallum’s Jaguar XKR hit the Ford Fiesta they were travelling in on the A477 in Carmarthenshire on June 13 2024.

Swansea Crown Court heard the driving conditions were very poor at the time of the crash due to heavy rain.

Craig Jones, prosecuting, said the two vehicles had been travelling in opposite directions but witnesses reported seeing MacCallum’s Jaguar “travelling at speed in the heavy rain” and overtaking another vehicle shortly before the collision.

Mr Jones said MacCallum lost control of his vehicle when it entered the opposite lane and hit the Ford Fiesta carrying Miss Worrell and Mr Muskett.

Following the crash, MacCallum told a witness: “I was overtaking, put my foot down, and lost it in the wet.”

MacCallum is believed to have been driving at the 60mph speed limit at the time of the collision, but was travelling inappropriately fast for the “horrendous” weather conditions, Mr Jones told the court.

Mr Jones said: “Both Adam and Katie sustained injuries during the course of the collision, which sadly proved unsurvivable.

“Tragically, Mr Muskett died at the scene and Miss Worrell passed away at hospital.”

Martyn Hynes, defending, described MacCallum’s actions as a “fatal error in judgment” and said the defendant showed genuine remorse for the deaths of Miss Worrell and Mr Muskett.

“There is a full realisation and acceptance by the defendant that he is responsible,” he said.

“It was a momentary lapse (in judgment) as opposed to deliberate and sustained bad driving.”

On Thursday, MacCallum, of Llanreath, Pembroke Dock, was given a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community and disqualified from driving for 18 months.

Sentencing MacCallum, Judge Thomas said: “This terrible event, nearly two years ago, lasted for a matter of seconds.

“But it caused the utterly tragic death of two lovely young people, with their lives so full of promise.”

Judge Thomas said, while the speed limit was not exceeded, MacCallum’s driving was “simply not appropriate” due to the heavy rain.

“You put your foot down when your vision was limited in horrendous driving conditions,” he said.

He said he understood the families of the victims would like him to “throw away the key” but stressed he was limited in the sentence he could impose.

He added that MacCallum had no previous convictions and was of “general excellent character”.

“You are genuinely aware of the devastation, of the impact of what you have done,” he told MacCallum.

In a statement issued after the sentencing, the families of the victims said: “We would like to thank the emergency services who attended that fateful day and the people who stopped to help Katie and Adam, we are forever grateful to them.

“We recognise the sentence of the court, but there is no sentence that will ever bring our children and siblings back. We appreciate the work of Dyfed-Powys Police and the Crown Prosecution Service to secure a conviction.

“Adam and Katie’s deaths were unnecessary, had the defendant not driven his car in the manner that he did they would still be with us.

“We now wish for privacy after what has been a long and difficult journey to the conclusion of this prosecution.

“We urge everyone to consider the manner and speed in which they drive their vehicles.”