The court heard the 17-year-old victim suffered a long-term brain injury which has affected his short-term memory and day-to-day life
20:01, 23 Dec 2025Updated 20:01, 23 Dec 2025
Brecon High School(Image: Powys County Council)
A 17 year old girl caused her friend to sustain a permanent brain injury after he fell off the bonnet of a car she was driving, resulting in a fractured skull. The victim’s father later recounted the harrowing scene of arriving to find his son “covered in blood” and appearing “lifeless” in the arms of a police officer.
Chanelle Guest, who is now 18, was socialising with friends in the car park of Brecon High School on May 17, where several vehicles were parked side by side. CCTV footage captured someone driving a Renault Clio, with a passenger hanging out of the window, neither of whom were the defendant.
During a sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Tuesday, it was revealed that the victim, then 17, was seen sitting on the bonnet of the Clio with Guest in the driver’s seat. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here.
Guest began to drive the car with the victim still on the bonnet. However, as she attempted a right-hand turn, the victim slipped off and struck his head on the road.
The Clio came to a halt as Guest and her friends hurried over to the victim, who seemed unable to sit up, reports Wales Online.
Emergency services were summoned and the police were the first to arrive at the scene. They found the victim covered in blood, which had pooled from his left ear, and he was drifting in and out of consciousness.
Guest identified herself as the driver, but the Clio was not her vehicle and she was not insured to drive it.
The victim was discovered to have sustained a serious head injury and a complex fracture to the left side of his skull.
He also had multiple bruises on the brain and several areas of bleeding on the left side of the brain.
After spending several days in critical care, he was discharged from hospital on 24 May. However, he returned to hospital when the left side of his face began to droop and he was unable to close his left eye.
Guest, from Lower Penywaun, Llanddew, Brecon, later admitted to causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The court was told that she had previously been of good character.
In a personal statement read out in court, the victim’s father detailed the full impact of his son’s injuries.
He stated: “He has a long term brain injury which has affected his short term memory and day to day life. Medical professionals have told us they don’t know how long it is going to take for him to recover.”
The father revealed that his son had been studying engineering at college, was a skilled air rifle shooter, a lifeguard at a leisure centre and described him as an “incredibly sociable young man”.
He added: “To look at him you wouldn’t think anything was wrong but if you knew him it’s easy to see how he has changed….
“Arriving at the scene shortly after the accident, the memory of that moment is difficult to erase. We were told he had been involved in a serious accident and was bleeding from his head. We were faced with numerous police vehicles and officers… We could see our son covered in blood and lifeless in a police officer’s arms.
“He went straight into critical care and we were in a state of shock about what happened in the accident. (Our son) spent the next few days in critical care and spent two weeks in hospital. He would sleep a lot and his eyes were shut but when he opened his eyes he would get aggressive. He wouldn’t eat properly, he would get out of bed to use the toilet and he got physical with me. That was the first sign he wasn’t himself, it was clear to see he wasn’t well.”
The father explained that whilst his son’s physical appearance remained unchanged from before the accident, he felt “everything he loves has been taken away from him”.
He continued: “It’s had a negative effect on his mental health and he’s feeling low and depressed. His mood has been affected by the brain injury and ‘spiky brain’ causes him to behave irrationally and say irrational things. It’s not the same as it was pre-accident.
“He has nightmares of the incident which are graphic in nature where he appears as a spectator, he sees himself and the outcome changes as he dies… His sleep pattern is all over the place… He’s told me, ‘I’ve got nothing left’.”
In mitigation, Hilary Roberts described his client as a “caring person” who looks after her autistic brother. He explained that the victim climbed onto the car’s bonnet, and the incident would not have happened had he not done so.
Mr Roberts added: “(The defendant) is utterly remorseful. She bears no malice towards anyone and is horrified at what she’s done.”
During sentencing, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: “There was a measure of being carried away with fun and euphoria of the moment and in that brief moment appeared to be funny. That has left a young man permanently disabled….
“(The victim’s parents) bear you no ill will and regard this episode as a tragic accident brought about by feckless and youthful behaviour. I don’t regard you as criminally inclined. I hope this has brought you to your senses and distilled a degree of maturity and responsibility.”
Guest received a 21-month detention sentence in a young offenders institution, suspended for 21 months.
The defendant was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and banned from driving for two years.
