New driver inhaled laughing gas before killing friend and hurting two others in horror smash

A speeding new driver who inhaled laughing gas and smoked cannabis before killing his own friend and wounding two others during a horror head-on smash has been locked up. Connor Jones was driving at almost twice the speed limit moments before he lost control of his Ford Focus, veering onto the wrong side of a narrow road and hurtling into an oncoming Peugeot at the end of his 21-mile course of dangerous driving.

He and his three passengers were not wearing seatbelts when his car was flung into the air before dramatically landing on the ground during the late-night collision. Witnesses were so concerned by the noise of the impact that they rushed out of their homes, finding a 'catastrophic' crash scene and canisters of nitrous oxide rolling down the street.

After scrambling out of his vehicle, 21-year-old Jones popped his head into the Peugeot and said "oh my God, oh f***". The killer driver then tried to find his missing shoe before callously running from the scene to 'avoid testing' as a have-a-go hero attempted to chase him down.

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Jones went into hiding before emerging at a hospital two days later where he was arrested. His 18-year-old friend Kane Foster suffered a devastating head injury and chest fractures which he could not survive, with heartbroken loved ones switching off his life support machine the day after the crash.

Wolverhampton Crown Court today (Tuesday, May 7) heard how two females arranged on Snapchat to meet up with Jones on June 16 last year. Jones drove his 2004 plate vehicle to Abraham Darby - a Wetherspoon pub near Merry Hill shopping centre.

He smoked a cannabis cigarette, which he shared with 'good friend' Mr Foster who had been in the car with him. All four headed to Gornal, with Mr Foster at the back of the car, one female sitting next to him and a second in the front of the vehicle.

The female rear-seat passenger became concerned about Jones' driving and asked him to 'slow down' as her friends 'had died in car crashes' but he shunned her advice. He continued his 'reckless' driving and jumped a red light.

The passenger again asked him to slow down as he was travelling at 'great speed'. The group arrived at a pub in Gornal but were turned away because they 'smelt of cannabis', prosecutor Antonie Muller said.

Jones decided to drive to a corner shop where he bought a bottle of vodka, which all four drank with lemonade. He then returned to The Waterfront near Merry Hill, with Mr Foster buying three canisters of then-legal nitrous oxide.

Jones next drove back to Gornal, inhaling the nitrous oxide after filling a balloon with the laughing gas as he played loud music from his phone. The court heard how one female passenger described the group's antics as 'madness'.

Jones turned into 'narrow and bendy' Coopers Bank Road, in Lower Gornal, but was driving 'far too fast' in the 30mph zone. The female rear seat passenger saw a bend coming, fearing 'something bad was going to happen'.

She told Jones to slow down but he ignored her again so she reached for her seatbelt but could not buckle it in time, Mr Muller said. Witnesses reported how Jones stopped 'abruptly' without indicating before accelerating and brushing a hedge on the offside of the road.

He then 'tried to correct himself' as he approached the brow of the hill on the nearside of the road before 'overcorrecting at speed' and hitting the Peugeot head-on at about 11pm. Both vehicles were said to have gone into the air before landing horizontally, with the nitrous oxide canisters flying out of the Ford.

Mr Foster was spotted unconscious and 'slumped' beside the female at the back of the car, while Jones and the second female were also unconscious. Jones came round and climbed out of his car with one shoe missing, 'complaining' about his back.

He looked into the Peugeot and said "oh my God, oh ****". One witness described how Jones smelt of alcohol and asked him if he had been drinking before telling the defendant: "Look at your mates in the car, this is your fault this is."

A 'panicked' Jones responded by asking where his phone was as he needed to call his dad and asking about his missing trainer. The killer driver then fled the scene as a witness shouted at him: "Oh my God, what have you done? Where are you going?"

Jones managed to 'outrun' a witness who attempted to keep him at the scene. Mr Muller said: "This collision was so loud people felt it was inside their own homes. It brought people onto the street.

"These people were telling Jones to stay where he was because of his injuries but he ignored them. The female back seat passenger assumed Jones was getting out to get help but in fact, he ran off, which was caught on CCTV."

Emergency services rushed to the scene, with firefighters cutting the injured victims from the vehicles. The court heard how Jones 'hid somewhere' and 'resurfaced' two days later, going to Russells Hall Hospital with his dad.

He lied and said police had been contacted but was arrested after a triage nurse raised the alarm with officers. No tests for drugs or alcohol could be taken due to the amount of time which had passed, Mr Muller said.

During an interview with police, Jones said in a prepared statement that he could not remember anything of the smash. Investigations later revealed he had been driving at 56.9 miles per hour before the collision, with his entire course of dangerous driving lasting two-and-a-half hours.

A man driving behind Jones told police that the convict was 'in the wrong', describing how the driver of the white Peugeot did 'nothing' to cause the smash. The female rear seat passenger sustained grazes, friction burns and cuts to her head and body, the court heard.

The front seat passenger remembers 'very little' of the ordeal, recalling only how the group consumed nitrous oxide and then woke in hospital. Medics said she vomited on the way to hospital, while an open wound had debris and gravel within it.

She suffered multiple injuries including a broken collar bone and holes in her bowel which needed surgery. The driver of the Peugeot - who was travelling under 30mph - recalled Jones 'suddenly' right in front of her before the impact.

She suffered a broken collar bone, dislocated right shoulder, broken rib, punctured right lung and fractured pelvis, as well as bruising and burns to her face and arm. The woman has experienced anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder since the ordeal.

The court heard how Jones - who was diagnosed with ADHD but did not engage in treatment - has a previous caution dating back to 2020 for possession of cannabis. Glenn Cook, defending, confirmed Jones had held his driving licence for four months at the time of the collision.

A statement from a relative said his actions were 'out of character'. Sentencing, Judge Michael Chambers KC said described Jones' driving as 'prolonged and persistent'.

He said: "This was a sustained course of dangerous driving, ignoring the warnings of your passengers, under the influence of alcohol and drugs. You ran away from the scene in order to avoid arrest and testing for drink and drugs.

"You were not only under the influence but grossly under the influence. This is an appalling case of its kind. You had passed your test some four months previously - that in itself should have made you aware of the care you needed to drive, being such an inexperienced driver."

He added: "It was quite obvious this was a catastrophic collision." Jones admitted causing death by dangerous driving and two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He was jailed for 12 years and must serve at least two-thirds of his sentence before he can be considered for release by the Parole Board. The defendant - of Kennedy Crescent, Lower Gornal - was also handed a 13-year driving ban.