Devastated Husband Speaks Out After Woman and Dog Are Hit by Driver Who Went 1,500 Feet in the Wrong Direction

A 30-year-old woman and her dog died after being struck by a 90-year-old man, who had been driving in the wrong direction for nearly 1,500 feet before the crash.

On the afternoon of Nov. 5, 2024, U.K. woman Emily Thornton-Sandy was driving on A48 in Carmarthenshire, Wales with her dog Scout when they were hit by 90-year-old man John Price, who had driven over 450 meters (1,476 feet) in the wrong direction, according to the BBC.

The elderly man died at the scene, while Thornton-Sandy died at a hospital in Cardiff six days later, the BBC and WalesOnline reported. Scout also died. 

“Nobody should have to see their wife as I saw Emily in hospital,” her husband Stuart said in a statement that was read by Coroner Paul Bennett during an inquest into their deaths this week.

“Emily lost her life and I lost my future,” his statement continued. “I want to do what I can to prevent other families from losing someone in such a cruel way.” 

At the inquest, Dyfed-Powys Police crash investigator David Stacey said that the crash, which occurred between two local roundabouts, sent both vehicles airborne. Price’s Toyota and Thornton-Sandy’s Ford were then struck by two other vehicles.

Stacey said that there was no evidence that either of the two drivers was under the influence of alcohol or distracted by their phones and that they were both wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, according to the BBC. 

Stacey, who said that weather and road conditions likely weren’t a contributing factor told the court that “why the driver drove the wrong way is unknown” — and said that Thornton-Sandy had “little time if any to avoid” the wrong-way driver.

The Coroner’s office for Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

During the hearing, Stacey confirmed that concerns about Price’s eyesight had been raised with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in 2023, but that a resulting test did not provide enough evidence to take away his license, according to the outlets.

Stacey also said that two days before the crash, Price was evaluated by a medic after having lost consciousness or fainted, but that it was determined there was no medical reason he couldn’t get back behind the wheel.

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An autopsy determined that Price died of multiple injuries from the crash, while Thorton-Sandy died of tension pneumothorax and traumatic brain injury, officials announced at the hearing, according to the BBC. 

Now, the grieving families are trying to find a way forward.

“I never envisaged that I would live my life without her,” Stuart’s statement read, according to the outlet. “I felt like I lost purpose when I lost Emily and Scout.”