Video shows shocking moment motorcycle couple is hit by drugged driver

A shocking video shows the moment a woman was thrown into the air and on to a garden wall after the motorbike she was riding on with her husband was hit by a driver on the wrong side of the road. Mother Alison Amner, 55, was tossed eight feet in the air after a driver high on drugs smashed into her motorbike, leaving her with life-changing injuries. 

She was riding on the back of her husband’s bike when the pair were hit by drugged-up Matthew Bell as he overtook a van on a bend, with the shocking incident captured on CCTV. Her husband Richard, 58, suffered a triple open fracture of his femur among other catastrophic injuries. Four months after the collision, the pair still require the use of a wheelchair and daily visits from carers. The couple have undergone more than 20 blood transfusions and spoke of their ordeal after Bell was jailed for 30 months over the crash in his Chevrolet car. Pictured: Alison and Richard Amner.

The couple were going for a regular spin on their Yamaha bike in Carmarthenshire, Wales in July when they were flung from their motorbike after being hit by Bell (pictured). He later tested positive for drugs in his system. The horrendous crash was captured on a CCTV camera — and it was so graphic that people in Swansea Crown Court were allowed to leave if it was too distressing. Bell drove on the wrong side of the road, side-by side with the Transit van he was overtaking. The motorcycle can clearly be seen traveling on the correct side of the road, before the footage shows both the driver and his passenger being thrown from the bike. Bell not only failed to stop immediately after the crash but openly blamed the rider of the motorcycle and his wife for the crash, telling police at the scene that ‘they were on the wrong side of the road.’

Bell, of nearby Ferryside, admitted two charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving whilst unfit through drugs, driving without a license and driving without insurance. Prosecutor James Hartson said: ‘He continued to drive after the collision and witnesses formed the view that it was obvious he was trying to get away. The mechanical state of his own vehicle prevented him from doing so. He attempted to blame the rider of the motorcycle and was heard to say “I’m [expletive].”‘ He was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment — only half of which he will serve in jail — and was handed an extended driving ban. 

In a victim impact statement to court, Alison said: ‘Emotionally, physically and mentally I can’t do anything. I am so scared for the future. Financially I don’t know what is going to happen — I am self-employed so I don’t know how I’m going to cope. I’m worried about my husband, which is playing on my mind. My daughter is asking us if we are ever going to go on the bike again. Motorcycles are our passion and he (Bell) has taken that away from us. The man who did this doesn’t realize how badly he has affected our lives.’ 

The couple, who spent weeks in two different hospitals, 70 miles apart, spoke of their ordeal to Welsh current affairs program Y Byd ar Bedwar and called for tougher laws on drug drivers. Richard said: ‘There were stages I didn’t think coming home would happen.’ Alison added: ‘I have a pin and plate in the leg, I have a plate in my hand, I broke my finger, my nose, nine ribs and a punctured lung. We were so used to doing everything ourselves and now we rely on other people to do things for us. Like washing us, making food for us, helping put clothes on, brushing my hair. My hand doesn’t work like it used to. And that’s what’s painful, not being able to do what I used to do with my hand.’

Their 29-year-old daughter Jody is now caring for her parents at her home. She said: ‘I never thought in my 20s I’d be caring for my parents.’ Richard and Alison’s house is now undergoing major renovations to adapt it to their injuries. A fundraising campaign has also been set up to support the couple as they are unable to work following the accident. The couple are now calling for tougher prison sentences for drivers who seriously injured others while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Pictured: Alison with daughters Jody and Kara in the hospital.

‘The convictions that he’s had, he’s done it more than once, over 60 odd convictions and still continuing to drive the road and this is what he did,’ said Alison. ‘It needs to change. He’ll be able to get up, he’ll be able to get washed and dressed, he’ll have food handed to him. It’s just not enough.’ The family’s local MP, Nia Griffith, raised the case to the Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab in Parliament. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: ‘Dangerous driving puts lives at risk which is why we increased the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving from 14 years to life imprisonment. Judges decide sentences following guidelines set by the independent Sentencing Council. They recently consulted on changes to motoring offense sentencing, including causing serious injury by dangerous driving.’ 

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