Coroner calls for road improvements

8:39am Tuesday 9th September 2008

THE FAMILY of teenager Chris Hughes attended Trowbridge Coroner's Court this week to hear evidence relating to the death of the 16-year-old on the A350 near Lacock earlier this year.

Assistant deputy coroner David Ridley recorded a narrative verdict following evidence into the Wiltshire College student's death on January 20 near the Lackham campus he attended for class.

Chris, from Bridgend in Wales, was killed by a Mercedes being driven by Melksham man Kenneth Crossley, 61, who had been overtaking a Robin Reliant on the stretch of road near the Reybridge turn off at about 7.20pm.

The court, which was attended by Chris' mother Ros Morgan, heard how the agricultural student had been wearing dark clothing and crossing an unlit road in dark conditions.

The driver of the Robin Reliant, Bryan Sandford, also from Melksham, told the court how he had not seen anything until he heard the impact of the Mercedes hit Chris.

He said: "I was just driving along normally, not really aware of anything behind me and I looked in the mirror and saw another car had started overtaking me.

"And then there was this loud bang.

"I didn't yank the breaks on straight away as I was more shocked than anything with the bang.

"I crept on a little bit and then pulled in as I realised something had happened."

Mr Sanford, who is a contract cleaner had been in the car with his wife Veronica at the time and said he had been doing 50mph.

Mr Crossley also took to the stand to give evidence and told the court this was a stretch of road he knew very well.

He said: "I had looked in the mirror and saw there was nothing coming.

"I indicated and pulled out to overtake the three wheeler.

"That's when I hit an object, I didn't see anything at all.

"I didn't know I had struck the deceased, I thought I had struck an animal as there is a large mansion up the road and always animals around."

PC Marcus Beresford-Smith, of the Northern Roads Policing Unit had been involved in reconstructing the collision.

He told the court that it was estimated Mr Crossley had been doing between 50 and 60mph at the time of the crash.

He told the court that as a local man he knew the road well and confirmed that Mr Crossley had not illegally overtaken the car when he hit Chris.

In summing up his findings, Mr Ridley said he would make recommendations to the Highways department at Wiltshire County Council for the stretch of road to be reviewed.

He said he would be recommending that signs along the road should be reviewed as well as the white hatching in the middle of the road, that Chris had been standing on when he was hit.

Verdict: narrative