A66 safety concern after dad died following 90mph crash overtaking …
A dad who was “worshipped” by his family died after trying to overtake a lorry on the A66 in Cumbria[1].
Laurie Flood from Leeds was driving his Honda CRV on the “fast, busy road” between Kirkby Thore and Crackenthorpe in the early hours of Sunday, February 13 when he attempted to overtake a lorry at up to 90mph. The driver of an oncoming wagon, Darren Kimberley, tried to swerve but was “afforded no time to avoid the collision” on the road which is subject to a 40mph speed limit.
The first police officer to arrive at the scene, at around 5.54am, noted that Laurie’s legs were trapped and said that he reported experiencing pain in his right arm and throughout his body. Paramedics said that when they asked Laurie, a retired property[2] repairman, how fast he had been driving he replied “faster than I should have been”.
Laurie, who had a history of heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, was taken to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle[3] at 8.09am where his condition rapidly deteriorated and he went into cardiac arrest. His oxygen levels began to drop and despite attempts to ventilate him, as well as a blood transfusion, he was pronounced dead at 8.58am.
An inquest held today (April 13) at Cockermouth Coroner’s Court[4] heard that Laurie, a keen metal detectorist, had cocaine metabolites in his system at the time of the crash as well as evidence of recent cannabis use. Collision investigators later concluded that his use of cocaine could have caused fatigue which may have contributed to the collision.
In a statement Darren Kimberley, the lorry driver who collided with Laurie’s car, told police that he had started work at Hayton Coulthard in Ecclefechan at 4.30am and had driven down the M6[5] before joining the A66. As he headed eastwards, close to Kirkby Thore, he made his way up an incline when Laurie’s car “drifted” in front of him.
“I knew I couldn’t get out of the way,” Mr Kimberley said in his statement. “As I ran towards the car I rang 999. I was speaking to the driver, he way talking back to me, and he was telling me that he couldn’t get out.”
After the collision Mr Kimberley told police: “What was he doing trying to overtake there?” A police officer said in a statement that there are “minimal opportunities to overtake” on the “fast, busy road” where the collision happened.
In a statement, submitted to Area Coroner Kirsty Gomersal, Laurie’s wife Jean described how she “worshipped” her husband. “He was a good husband and father, kind and generous,” Jean, who had been married to Laurie for almost 50 years, said. “I worshipped him and I always will. I think about him every day and miss him greatly.”
Medical evidence revealed that the multiple fractures Laurie had suffered would “not have been survivable”. Laurie’s pre-existing heart condition, along with fatigue and intoxication, may have contributed to the crash. PC Lee Hill, who is based at Kendal[6] Police Station, gave evidence to the inquest. PC Hill has been tasked to Cumbria Police’s collision investigation unit since 2006 and revealed that it was impossible to determine if Laurie had been braking at the time of the crash.
“Whilst we know that the brake lights were illuminated we can’t tell if that was due to the force of the collision,” PC Hill said. When asked if the comments Laurie made immediately after the crash regarding his speed were likely to be relevant the officer said: “It is certainly something to be taken into consideration.
“It is a fast road, especially in the early hours when traffic is light, and the area around Kirkby Thore and Crackenthorpe, coming off a long section of dual carriageway… vehicles do tend to carry speed into the single carriageway.”
The coroner asked PC Hill to reflect on his assessment of the number of collisions on the A66, in comparison to those on the A590 between the Brettargh Holt roundabout and Ulverston, and asked if he had identified any common factors. Although the type of vehicles involved in serious or fatal collisions differed on each road PC Hill said that crashes often involved a vehicle crossing the centre line.
The coroner asked the officer: “Is there something that should be done? Should double white lines be introduced or is that going a bit too far?”
PC Hill said that he believed that ‘rumble strips’, a road safety feature to alert drivers of an upcoming change, could be beneficial as an interim measure ahead of any potential introduction of central barriers but did say that he did not anticipate that solid white lines would have an impact. He agreed with the coroner’s suggestion that she suggests to National Highways that they consider her concerns regarding safety on the A66.
“I am concerned about the risk of future deaths on this stretch [of road],” Ms Gomersal added, before concluding that Laurie’s death was the result of a road traffic collision. “Laurie was a kind and generous individual,” she said.
“It is simply not possible to determine why this collision occurred… the HGV driver could not have avoided the collision.”
The coroner said: “It is perhaps premature to issue a report to prevent future deaths… but I will write a letter to National Highways to express my concerns about this stretch of the A66.”