A TEENAGE driver killed a man just 12 weeks after passing her driving test, a judge heard.

Hanna Lewis, now 18, lost control on a sweeping bend and her red Audi ploughed head on into a Rover driven by Bryan Smithers.

Mr Smithers, who was still working as an accountant at the age of 79, died at the scene.

Lewis’ friend and front seat passenger suffered serious back injuries and will need further treatment more than a year after the accident.

Lewis, of Dolau Gwynon, Llandovery, admitted causing death by careless driving. She was jailed for eight months, suspended for two years, and banned from driving for three years.

She must also complete 200 hours of unpaid work for the community.

Georgina Buckley, prosecuting, told Swansea crown court how Mr Smithers had been on his way home from Carmarthen Bridge Club, where he was the treasurer, at 10.15pm on August 29 last year.

Lewis went into the left hand bend, on the B4312 between Llangain and Llansteffan, at 55mph and lost control. Her car ended up on the wrong side of the road.

Immediately after the collision Lewis, then a 17 year old schoolgirl, tried to save Mr Smithers.

The collision had been heard by Paul Norman, a retired nurse who lived nearby, who raced to the scene. But it was already too late to help Mr Smithers.

But, with the help of two passers by, he continued to try and revive Mr Smithers until an ambulance arrived.

Miss Buckley said Lewis was tested for alcohol and drugs and the results were negative.

After her arrest Lewis told police she had swerved to the right to try and avoid a collision.

During a second interview the conclusions of a road traffic investigator were put to her and she refused to answer any more questions.

In a victim impact statement Mr Smithers’ widow, Margaret, said they had been together for 45 years.

“I have lost my best friend and my carer,” she added.

Mr Smithers had been an accountant all his working life and had run a successful business.

Nicholas Gedge, the barrister representing Lewis, said she had been an inexperienced driver who was not used to the road or at driving in the dark.

She was now at university, he added.

“She cannot say or do anything that would mitigate the loss to Mr Smithers’ family,” he added.

Judge Keith Thomas said human life could not be measured by a court sentence.

“You were inexperienced at driving and at driving at night.

“It has had a devastating effect on Mr Smithers’ family. He was a large part of their lives and the life of the community.

“The consequences have been catastrophic.”