A 19-year-old student, Jonah Neal, was convicted of causing serious injury by dangerous driving after his Nissan Leaf lost control on a bend near Aberystwyth and crashed head-on into an oncoming vehicle. The collision occurred on the A44 in dark conditions with light rain, just thirteen months after Neal had passed his driving test. The other driver suffered multiple serious injuries, including a broken pelvis, breastbone, ankle, vertebrae and ribs, requiring five metal plates to be inserted into an open fracture in his leg.

Neal's defence counsel argued the crash resulted from inexperience rather than irresponsibility, claiming he had been travelling faster than he realised and braked hard after approaching two motorbikes ahead of him. The court heard that better judgment from a more experienced driver might have prevented the collision. Prosecutors noted it was "good fortune and nothing else" that the victim's injuries were not more severe. Neal was sentenced to twelve months' detention in a young offenders' institution (suspended for twelve months), ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, banned from driving for two years, and must pass an extended driving test before regaining his licence.