Brothers who were racing home jailed for killing dad in Welshpool crash

Two brothers who were racing each other home before a crash which killed a father-of-two and seriously injured his nine-year-old son have been jailed.

Rhys Jenkins died at the scene of the crash near Welshpool, Powys, in November 2024 while his Ioan was airlifted to hospital when a BMW X3 driven by Abubakr Ben Yusaf drifted sideways and hit their Toyota Yaris head on.

Abubakr Ben Yusaf was sentenced to 14 years for causing death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving and causing death while uninsured.

Umar Ben Yusaf, who was behind him on the road in his own vehicle, was sentenced to two years and nine months for causing death and serious injury by careless driving.

Rugby referee Rhys Jenkins had been taking Ioan from their home in Meifod to watch Wales play Australia in Cardiff, their first Wales rugby match together, on the day of the crash.

Mold Crown Court heard the brothers, both locom optometrists, were driving from Aberystwyth to Manchester at the time.

The brothers were racing and trying to get ahead of each other on the A483 between Newtown and Welshpool when witnesses described them “aggressively” tailgating cars and flashing their headlights before overtaking traffic recklessly in the moments before the crash.

They later fled the scene while witnesses helped rescue Ioan from the car.

Within 40 minutes of the collision, Umar Ben Yusaf drove back to the area and told a police community support officer that the person responsible was with him.