Death crash driver agony: It was end of the world
A motorist who hit a people carrier which plunged into a reservoir killing four members of a family said the moments after the collision 'felt like the end of the world'.
Gordon Dyche, 24, was rushing because he was running late for work when he tried to overtake two cars, hitting one which ran off the road into Llyn Clywedog, near Llanidloes, Caernarfon Crown Court heard.
The car plunged seven metres below the surface and only driver Denise Griffith, 56, and her dog, Milly survived the incident on April 20 last year.
Mrs Griffith's husband Emyr, 66, mother Phyllis Hooper, 84, and two foster sons Peter Briscome and Liam Govier, both 14, died.
The collision happened when Dyche tried to overtake two cars, the front one being driven by Mrs Griffith, who was turning right into a layby to view the reservoir.
As she turned towards the layby, Dyche collided with the back of her car.
Dyche, from Llanbrynmair, who denies four charges of causing death by dangerous driving and a further four charges of causing death by careless driving, told the jury at his trial yesterday that he was left feeling 'helpless'.
He said: "It felt like the end of the world. I felt helpless and useless."
The court heard that Dyche told a paramedic that he was to blame, saying: "I shouldn't have done it. I was late for work. It is my fault."
The trial continues.
