Boy, 11, dies after car crashes into parked lorry

Police have launched an investigation into the death of an 11-year-old boy who was killed when a car crashed into a parked lorry near Stonehenge.

Charles Cobbe died from multiple traumatic injuries following the crash between a black BMW and a lorry, which was parked in a lay-by, an inquest was told.

Around 20 firefighters went to the scene and emergency services blocked off both carriageways on the A303 for several hours.

The car’s driver, a man in his 40s, and another passenger, a 15-year-old boy, were taken to Southampton General Hospital with serious injuries, said police.

Charles, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was pronounced dead after sustaining multiple traumatic injuries in the accident on July 8, a post-mortem examination found.

The lorry driver was unhurt.

‘Tragic incident’

An inquest in Salisbury, Wiltshire, heard how Charles lived with his father Henry Cobbe, a 48-year-old company director, and his mother Maria at the Grade One listed house in Hatchlands Park, Guildford, Surrey.

Charles also lived with his brother Felix, his sister Irene and grandfather Alec Cobbe – a noted art restorer at the property owned by the National Trust, which is said to contain what is believed to be the only surviving portrait of William Shakespeare painted in his lifetime.

Hatchlands Park has been home to the Cobbe family since 1987. The Irish landed family has produced several prominent politicians, clergymen, writers, activists and soldiers.

A funeral for Charles was held at Brompton Oratory in Knightsbridge, central London, last week.

Detectives have launched an appeal for witnesses to come forward, along with drivers who may have dashcam footage of the incident.

Det Con Charlotte Upton, of Wiltshire Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Team, said: “This was a tragic incident where a young boy has sadly lost his life.

“We are making a renewed appeal for anyone who witnessed the incident or who may have dashcam footage from either side of the carriageway at around that time to please get in touch with us.

“If you were travelling through Wiltshire via the A303 that evening, or perhaps heading to Stonehenge, then please check any dashcam footage you have to see if it captured anything which could help us with our investigation.

“Any little bit of information could be vital in helping us piece together what happened.”