The driver of a car that was later involved in a crash which killed three people has been fined.

Joel Lia, 28, pleaded guilty to driving without a licence and driving without insurance.

The charges were separate to the fatal crash in the early hours of 4 March but involved the same vehicle.

Later that same night Rafel Jeanne, 24, and passengers Darcy Ross and Eve Smith, both 21, died in a collision which took place in Cardiff at around 2.03am.

An initial inquest was told the three were declared dead at the scene.

The hearing was adjourned while further histology and toxicology tests take place.

Lia was not travelling in the car when it crashed in the St Mellons area of the city.

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He had been the driver an hour before the crash took place but he was dropped off in the Pentwyn area of Cardiff at about 2am.

The Volkswagen Tiguan veered off a slip road near a roundabout and came to rest in some trees.

Shane Loughlin, 32, and Sophie Russon, 20, survived the crash but were both injured.

Loughlin has separately pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous driving and driving while disqualified also earlier that night – which police have said was not connected with the later crash.

The group were not discovered by Gwent Police and South Wales Police for around 46 hours after the crash took place.

That length of time is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

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Lia’s case was dealt with in private through a system called the single justice procedure.

At Cardiff Magistrates’ Court, Lia was ordered to pay a total of £258 – which included a £120 fine, £48 surcharge and £90 of court costs.

He was also disqualified from driving for six months.

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