A TEENAGER who reached speeds of 145mph before crashing into another car on the hard shoulder laughed when police told him he could have killed someone.

Jay Davies, 19, stole his father’s Volkswagen Golf before he led cops on a high-speed chase through Newport and Cardiff on the M4 and A48 last summer.

The defendant’s dad called 999 to report the theft on the night of August 3 after his son took his car after being invited to his home for dinner.

Davies was pursued before ploughing into Lionel Richard Harrhy who had pulled onto the hard shoulder of the M4 in Newport after his Vauxhall Astra overheated.

William Bebb, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court: “The victim got out of his vehicle and lifted the bonnet to inspect it.

“Whilst the bonnet was up, he was alerted to blue lights coming towards him.

“There was a marked police vehicle driving towards him with the white Volkswagen Golf in front.

“Within seconds of this, Mr Harryy felt a large bang through the car and this hit through his legs and knocked him to the floor.

I have nightmares where I imagine myself lying in a coffin 

“He explained feeling instant pain and fearing for his life and he honestly thought he was going to die.

“His head hit the floor and he could see the Volkswagen had hit his car and was trying to nudge his car out of the way.

“The Golf driver continued trying to drive and was revving the engine and described the car as moving forward towards his neck and the front of his car hit his face and he could feel fast flowing blood coming down his face.

“He was panicking and trying to free himself from under his car and was rubbing blood from his eyes.”

Mr Bebb played dashcam footage from the chasing police vehicle which showed the officer run from his car and smash the driver window of the Golf and arrest Davies.

Mr Harrhy was taken to the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, and has been scarred for life after receiving facial fractures and cuts.

In a victim impact statement he said: “This has had a huge impact on my welfare and the way I live my life.

“A number of years ago I was asked to identify the body of my brother who tragically died in a car accident at the age of 19.

“As a result of that I had PTSD for a number of years and had counselling for it.

“Due to this incident being very similar in nature, I’ve been having flashbacks.”

Mr Harry added: “I’ve been having nightmares where I imagine myself lying in a coffin and seeing the wheels of my car spinning and the car running over me again.

“I felt I was going to die.

“I honestly thought I would die before I made it to hospital.

“I remember lying on the side of the road and waiting for the ambulance to arrive for what seemed like a long time.

“He could have left children without a father.”

Mr Bebb added: “The defendant was interviewed on August 4 and answered no comment to all the questions asked of him but when he was shown photos of the injuries in question the defendant was said to smirk.

“When asked if he was laughing he said no he was just pulling his face and when challenged and told that this could have ended in death, again the defendant laughed.”

The defendant, of Caerau Road, Newport, who has now turned 20, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.

Davies has a previous conviction for supplying drugs from 2020.

John Ryan, representing the defendant, said his client suffered from ADHD and asked for his client to be given full credit for his early guilty pleas.

His barrister added: “There are some real mental health problems to overcome.”

The judge, Recorder Dyfed Llion Thomas, sent Davies to a young offender institution for 14 months and banned him from driving for 31 months.