'Frustrated' teen drove at 140mph on way to gym before crashing into taxi

A "frustrated" teenager drove his car at more than 140mph (225km/h) on his way to the gym before crashing into a taxi.

Max Dangerfield, now 20, was driving in the early hours of 25 January 2025 on the A48 near the Cross Hands roundabout in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, when he ploughed into the back of a taxi that was taking two women home after a night out.

The taxi driver suffered broken ribs, bleeds on the brain, a punctured lung and a lacerated liver in the crash.

Dangerfield, who was uninsured, was banned from driving for 50 months at Swansea Crown Court on 13 August, and must serve 28 months detention in a young offenders institution.

He must pass an extended test before he can get a licence.

Judge Huw Rees said it was "inexplicable" why someone would want to drive at such "extreme" speeds, let alone why a car would be capable of achieving those speeds.

The court heard that shortly before 04:30 BST two police officers in an unmarked car were heading westbound on the A48 Cross Hands at about 70mph (113km/h) when a black BMW M 140i overtook them at a speed in excess of 100mph.

Prosecutor Caitlin Brazel said the police officers accelerated their car to the maximum speed - reaching a speed of 120mph - but still lost ground on Dangerfield's vehicle.

She said officers continued to head westbound before coming across debris in the dual carriageway and finding a badly damaged Toyota on the nearside verge.

The two female passengers in the back of the taxi were able to exit the car but the driver was unresponsive and trapped inside.

The court heard that as the police officers tended to the taxi driver, a motorist who had been driving behind the police car when they were both overtaken by the BMW arrived on the scene.

He went over to the BMW which had come to rest on the opposite carriageway.

Brazel said the BMW was "extensively damaged" and that when the motorist "pulled back the deployed airbag he expected to find the driver dead", instead he found Dangerfield chatting on his phone.

The court heard firefighters freed the taxi driver, and he was taken to University Hospital of Wales. He underwent a number of procedures and operations before being discharged on 1 February.

He was deemed medically unfit to drive meaning he could not return to work.

Brazel said download data obtained from the BMW's airbag showed the car had been travelling at 141.6mph (228km/h) at the point of collision, but a forensic crash investigator who examined tyre marks at the scene concluded the vehicle had been travelling in excess of that speed prior to the collision.

In a victim impact statement the taxi driver said the crash had a "huge effect" on him and his family.

He said he had been confined to bed for six months after the incident and was unable to wash or care for himself or play with his children, and said "no painkillers can touch the pain".

He added he had always prided himself on working hard to provide for his family and said when he was eventually able to return to work as a self-employed taxi driver it was on a part-time basis.

The driver said he now only takes jobs local to the Swansea area and does not like working at night.

He added he hates to think about what would have happened if the police had not been in the area and got to him quickly.

Dangerfield, of Swiss Valley, Llanelli, had previously pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving when he appeared in the dock for sentencing, and had one previous conviction from August 2025 which related to the no insurance matter.

Megan Williams, defending Dangerfield, said on the night in question he had become emotional after an argument with a friend and had decided to "drive to the gym in order to release his frustration".

She said he now realises "he was not in a fit mental state to drive", adding he wished to apologise to his victim and would welcome a chance to meet him face-to-face in an act of restorative justice.