A BOYFRIEND who nearly killed his partner after grabbing the steering wheel and crashing her car into a tree has been jailed for nearly five years.

The young mum was left fighting for her life after Jake Kilgannon, 21, caused her BMW to collide into a central reservation in Newport.

Prosecutor Ruth Smith said the care assistant suffered horrendous injuries and told how a doctor confessed to the victim it was a miracle she was still alive.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how Kilgannon’s now ex-girlfriend sustained a collapsed lung, liver lacerations and a broken pelvis, elbow and wrist.

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As she was in intensive care, the defendant went out drinking, laughing and flirting with other women.

Ms Smith said that Kilgannon had yanked the steering wheel as the couple rowed as the victim was driving herself to a hospital appointment.

The BMW careered into a tree on Newport’s Malpas Road at a speed of between 30 and 40mph.

The car crashed on the driver’s side and the airbag inflated and trapped the woman in the vehicle for an hour as firefighters desperately tried to cut her free.

Kilgannon walked away from the wreck almost unscathed.

Ms Smith said: “The injuries she sustained were frightening and painful. She told paramedics she couldn’t breathe. Morphine was administered.

“It took the firefighters nearly an hour to cut her free. She was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, but, because of the severity of her injuries, she was flown to Southmead Hospital in Bristol.”

In a moving impact statement read to the court, the victim said: “I spent 37 days in hospital, in an out of intensive care due to my changing condition.

“I asked a doctor, ‘Am I going to die?’ He replied, ‘You could and I’m surprised you haven’t in your case. You are a lucky girl.’

“I lost two stone as I was unable to eat and I have had to learn to how walk again.”

She added: “I feel as if I have been robbed of my health. I was active and fit and I have run a half marathon.

“I have been told I will never be able to do a road run again. I never deserved for this to happen to me.

“I was nearly killed because of something I said that he didn’t like. I loved him and he was a big part of my life. He betrayed me.

“After the crash on the Tuesday, I was sent videos of him on the Friday and Saturday in a pub laughing and talking to other girls.”

Initially the defendant claimed he had grabbed the steering wheel after the woman had blacked out.

Labourer Kilgannon, of Glassworks Cottages, Newport, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm on August 20, 2019.

The court heard how the defendant has a domestic violence conviction for battery for spitting at and pushing her after he caused the crash.

Peter Donnison, mitigating, said: “At the age of 21 he is someone who has ruined his own life and the life of the complainant as well.

“It has weighed heavily upon him.”

Judge Jeremy Jenkins told Kilgannon: “You managed to get out of the car relatively unscathed. You caused your victim life-changing injuries.

“She was in a vulnerable position and was unable to fight you off. She was helpless.

“You used violence and physical force against her even after this incident.”

He was jailed for four years and eight months and was made the subject of a five-year restraining order.