A heartbroken firefighter who was called to a car crash to find his 21-year-old daughter being pulled from the wreckage has told a court that the ‘loss consumes him’ today.
Care home worker Ella Brooke Smith, 21, was seen being pulled from the wreckage by father Adrian who was on duty at the time of the tragic crash and recognised her by her distinctive tattoo.
Ella died in the devastating smash caused by two learner drivers Jago Clarke, 21, and mum to be Emma Price, 21, in a road race.
Heartbroken Adrian told how he was on duty when he was called to the crash scene not knowing his daughter was involved.
In an emotional victim impact statement he faced down Price and Clarke in court.
He said: ‘I was the duty officer for the fire service in Pembrokeshire and was mobilised to a road traffic collision with multiple persons trapped, something I had attended many times in my career.
Care home worker Ella (middle), 21, was discovered by her father Adrian (right), 47, who recognised her by her distinctive tattoo
Ella Brooke Smith was caught in the wreckage of a white Ford Ka after a day trip to the seaside
‘Once in attendance I carried out a scene assessment and I moved around one of the vehicles and was stood between the two involved.
‘I noticed a female being pulled clear of one of them, I noticed a tattoo on her leg and immediately recognised it as Ella’s.
‘I turned to the car and checked the registration – it was Ella’s.
‘As I looked back they were pulling a blanket over Ella.’
Mr Smith said that ‘at that moment, although surrounded by many people I was the loneliest man alive.’
‘I knew something nobody else did, I knew my oldest daughter was dead,’ he said.
Mr Smith said he was ‘haunted’ by not being able to tell his wife over the phone that their daughter was dead.
He said he would ‘never forgive’ Clarke or Price for their ‘arrogance and appetite for self-preservation’ by not pleading guilty.
He added: ‘I will never understand why you did what you did and this will eat away at me for the rest of my life.’
The court heard Mr Smith was forced to take early retirement from his firefighter role and his wife Maria has had to leave her job in the NHS.
He added: ‘The loss is consuming me and my grief has become the new me, the father who planned his daughter’s funeral rather than her wedding, the father who carried a coffin rather than walk her down the aisle, the father who read an eulogy rather than the father-of-the-bride speech.’
Clarke and Emma Price were spotted driving ‘competitively’ just moments before the horrific crash.
Prosecutor Jim Davis said Ella had arrived at the beach to collect Clarke after he had spent the day at the seaside with Price and friends.
Clarke was seen sipping from a bottle of Budweiser and mixing vodka and Sourz before he got into the driver’s seat of Ella’s car.
Ella Brooke Smith, who was killed in the smash in June 2021, is pictured with boyfriend Ashden King
The court heard Mr Smith was forced to take early retirement from his firefighter role following Ella’s death
The court heard friend Luis Heathfield warned Clarke not to drive after he was ‘bragging’ about driving and being ‘cocky.’
Mr Heathfield said he shouted: ‘Don’t be a f****** idiot’ when he saw Clarke get into the driver’s seat while Ella climbed into the passenger side.
Swansea Crown Court heard Clarke drove away from the beach in Broad Haven, Pembrokeshire, along with Price driving a Citroen C1.
Mr Davis said: ‘Neither defendant should have been driving either vehicle at the time, as both only held provisional licences and were not being supervised.
‘It seems that Jago Clarke was bragging to everyone that he was going to drive Ella’s car and overtake everyone.’
The court heard the pair were driving ‘competitively’ when Clarke lost control of a white Ford Ka and crashed into an oncoming car.
Price’s blue Citroen was not involved in the crash – but she was found to be equally responsible due to her driving just moments earlier.
One witness said she saw the woman driver running at the scene saying: ‘I’m going to prison, they’re sending me to prison.’
The court heard the friends had been on a day out at the beach in June 2021 before the fatal crash.
Driver Rowan Fair, who was in the oncoming Seat, said he saw two cars ‘side by side’ heading in his direction and travelling ‘very fast’.
He said he saw the white car hit the hedge and ‘fly back out’ across the road into his path – leaving no time to react.
Mr Fair’s partner Daisy Buck was a passenger in the car when she was left seriously injured in the head-on crash.
The court heard Ella suffered catastrophic injuries in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Clarke, of Hubberston, Milford Haven, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Price, of Holloway, Haverfordwest, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving, causing death by driving while unlicensed and uninsured and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
The sentencing hearing continues.