Inquest: Kendal man died after crashing into coach on A590

Yorick de Munnick, 41, died at the scene of the crash on the A590 between Lindale and Newby Bridge at around 3.30pm on January 21, 2024.

Mr De Munnick, who moved to Kendal with his wife Abigail in 2010 from his native Netherlands, was driving west on the road in a white Suzuki Alto when witnesses saw his car gradually veer into oncoming traffic in the eastbound carriageway.

He crashed into the offside of a white Volvo coach whose driver had reacted, attempting to steer to the nearside.

Paramedics arrived at the scene at 3.43pm, and pronounced Mr De Munnick dead at 3.48pm.

One of those witnesses was the driver of the coach, David Raleigh, who provided a statement to the court, saying he was driving from Barrow to Carlisle to provide a rail replacement service.

He said that in wet conditions, he passed Newby Bridge filling station, slowly speeding up as the speed limit changed from 40mph to 60mph, and saw a white car approached, and ‘noticed it started to veer to one side’.

He said he ‘thought it would correct’, but didn’t, so began to steer to try to avoid it, but it crashed into his coach, and he ‘instantly lost all control of the vehicle’.

Mr Raleigh was tested for alcohol and drugs, all of which were negative.

Other witnesses gave identical accounts of the respective vehicles’ movements.

A statement provided to the court by Mr De Munnick’s wife, Abigail, said that he was ‘full of humour’ and ‘loved to make people laugh’, but suffered from depression due to his diagnosis of ADHD.

In December 2023 he sought medication from his GP to help with his depression, and his wife said that it ‘did seem to raise his anxiety, but his general mental wellbeing seemed more stable’.

He went for a family visit to the Netherlands from January 15 until January 20, where he said he ‘had a good time with everyone’.

Abigail’s statement said that he had bought plane tickets to visit friends in Texas, and were making plans for the future.

At 10am on Sunday 21 January, he went to his usual meeting at the Kingdom Hall of Jehova’s Witnesses, and was seen actively taking part, reading a scripture, and afterwards chatting to friends and playing with the children.

Afterwards, Abigail said she was feeling poorly, so Mr De Munnick went out shopping, but sent her a message saying he was going on a pleasure drive as he ‘wanted to clear his mind first’.

She said: “Yorick was a good driver, though he did struggle with depression.

“The fact that I still have a cake in my fridge, alongside all the plans we had together for the future, makes the thought of intent to harm himself completely illogical.”

After the statement was read out in court, she told Assistant Coroner for Cumbria, Mr Robert Cohen: “I think in hindsight, after reading the report, he had talked about suicide and having suicidal thoughts a lot in our marriage, especially in the last few years.

“One of our friends attempted suicide by car but failed.”

A police forensic report on the collision ruled out any mechanical faults and driving experience being a factor, and neither driver had any drugs or alcohol in their system.

It said’the Suzuki had struck a large vehicle which should have been visible’, and that the brakes had not been used leading up to the collision.

It said that there were two possible causes – noting his medication for depression, that it could have been an intentional act by Mr De Munnick, or that he fell asleep at the wheel.

The report concluded the most likely cause of the crash was fatigue.

His wife said to the court: “If Yorick was tired he would not drive.”

A GP reported that in in December 2023, he reported ‘fleeting suicidal thoughts’, but was ‘not at risk of ending his life’.

Mr Cohen concluded: “This is a very difficult issue that I have wrestled with, with some anxiety.

“On the one hand, the police investigator says it was most likely caused by Yorick going to sleep.

“On the other hand, Yorick’s wife tells me firstly that he didn’t drive when tired, secondly that over the years, particularly more recently, he had become increasingly unwell, and had spoken more frequently of a desire to harm himself.

“I don’t feel this is a case where this is an evidential card that makes the answer obvious.

“He had left a cake in the fridge he was intending to eat next day, and making plans for future.

“That is usually a pretty good sign that somebody is not intending to end their life.

“But on other hand, sometimes a desire to end one’s life can come very quickly without much forward planning.

“We’re told he was chatting, that he was playing with children.

“Are those the actions of a man who is  in the midst of a profound depressive episode?

“I’ve ultimately found that I cannot say that it was more likely than not that this action occurred because of an intention on Yorick’s part.

“It might have done, but I don’t feel there is enough evidence for me to say that it did happen like that.”

Mr Cohen concluded that Mr De Munnick died as a result of a road traffic collision.