A FATHER accused of causing the death of another motorist in Newport has been found not guilty.

Joseph Cairns, aged 24, of Dewstow Street in Newport, denied causing the death of 22-year-old Jordan Bolt on September 15, 2013, in an alleged high-speed race along Newport’s Southern Distributor Road.

A jury this afternoon unanimously cleared him of causing death by dangerous driving, and also found him not guilty of two lesser counts of causing death by driving whilst unlicensed, and while uninsured.

Prosecutor Roger Griffiths claimed both the deceased and the defendant had been racing against each other along before Mr Bolt crashed into and over a roundabout in Alway near Balfe Road.

Mr Bolt, who died instantly of “catastrophic” head injuries, was driving an Audi S3 with his girlfriend in the passenger seat. She was taken to the Royal Gwent with injuries.

Giving evidence yesterday, Cairns claimed he was driving seven to 10 car lengths behind the Audi S3 before it crashed.

After seeing the Audi launch into the air and land, he slowed down and drove past the wreckage before going home.

Cairns broke down in tears in the witness box yesterday and said his life has been “destroyed” by what he had seen.