M3 crash inquest: Man who died was looking at phone
Father of four Duane Evans, from the West Midlands, was 38 when he died of multiple injuries on May 16, 2023.
He did not notice a lane closure as he was driving south on the M3, which was signalled just before Junction 9 at Winnall.
A few kilometres later, Mr Evans crashed into the back of a broken-down heavy goods vehicle, which had stopped in the first lane. This was just after junction 11 at Compton.
Area coroner Jason Pegg at Winchester Coroners’ Court ruled the cause of death to be misadventure.
Mr Evans, of Hall Street East, Wednesbury, was driving to Southampton from London for work in his brown Ford flatbed. Dashcam footage shows he was watching videos on his phone for most of the journey.
Mr Pegg said he did not know what video Mr Evans was watching.
He did not notice the overhead gantries signalling the lane closure and continued at the reduced speed of 50 miles per hour, undertaking other cars.
At the time of the crash, the hard shoulder was closed on the stretch of motorway where the lorry had broken down due to roadworks.
Speaking of his son, Mr Evans’s father told the coroner: “[Duane] was a friend to everyone. Everyone used to love him. He loved his work.”
He added: “He was a little bugger for using his phone.”
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Mr Evans’s former boss, Jamie Unitt, said he was best friends with his employee.
Mr Unitt remembered how, on one occasion when the pair were doing a job in Manchester, Mr Evans was docked points on his licence for using his phone at the wheel while a police car was right next to them.
Duane had worked as an employee at Mr Unitt’s haulage company for over four years.
Mr Pegg said: “[Duane’s] family have my sincere condolences.”