Student is cleared of death by dangerous driving

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy ISABELLA MACHIN, REPORTER Published: 14:00 BST, 5 June 2026 | Updated: 14:16 BST, 5 June 2026

A university student was cleared of death by dangerous driving after she hit and killed a dog walker on a pedestrian crossing. Megan Jones, 22, drove her Citroen C1 car into Julia Pritchard in Bridgend, South Wales, as she crossed the 'well lit' road with her dog and blue metal walker at around 5.30am in September 2023.The student had flown back from an 'action packed' holiday in Florida the day before the crash and was driving her father Aled Jones to Bridgend train station, Cardiff Crown Court heard. Jones, of Sarn, Bridgend, previously denied feeling 'groggy' from the trip, having said she slept on the nine-hour flight and between 9pm and 4.55am the night before.The defendant, who was 19 at the time of the incident, blamed 'shadows from the trees' for obstructing her view of the crossing, adding she simply had not seen Ms Pritchard. However Josh Scouller, prosecuting, described the crossing as being 'illuminated'. The court heard Jones had changed lanes after exiting a roundabout mere seconds before she collided with the 59-year-old. Jones said: 'It happened almost immediately. There was like a couple of seconds.' The 22-year-old sobbed repeatedly to the jury, reciting 'I didn't see her', after she claimed the first moment she saw Ms Pritchard was when she was on her car's smashed windscreen. Megan Jones, 22, crashed into a pedestrian as she crossed the road on a 'well lit' street using a blue metal walkerJones stayed with the 5ft1 victim, who was lying on the floor, until emergency services arrived after she dialled 999.Ms Pritchard was treated for 'various significant injuries' at University Hospital of Wales, however died four days later on September 19, 2023. Jones told the court: 'I felt very upset and distressed that this lady had passed away.' She had been on the road in the early hours after her father asked for a lift to the train station, who described his daughter as being 'normal' that morning.The lorry driver said: 'She was bright, alert and excited. She was normal Megan. 'I remember seeing two bright green lights for the pedestrian crossing on green. The next thing I saw was a flash of blue and the windscreen coming in. That was it.' Mr Jones recalled having 'general chit chat' with his daughter before the car drove into the victim. He added: 'We were talking about her trip to Florida. We were talking about the racoons that she had seen. It was just general chit chat.'Jones had been on holiday with her partner and his family, having landed at Heathrow Airport around lunchtime the day before. She said she slept during the journey between London and Cardiff. Jones, who pleaded not guilty to causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving, was cleared in a unanimous jury verdict in Cardiff Crown CourtDuring a police interview, she described leaving her home at 5.15am to take her father to the train station as she had frequently done during her four-month university holiday. The father-and-daughter pair stopped at the Texaco Tondu service station to buy drinks and snacks, where she bought a hot chocolate and Mr Jones bought a coffee. Jones then drove into Ms Pritchard 0.4miles away from the train station. The court, and Judge Christopher Felstead, heard Jones told the police in an interview that she was not distracted in any way, while data showed she had not been using her phone. The defendant, who pleaded not guilty to causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving, was cleared in a unanimous verdict by the jury - which took less than an hour.