A420 crash that killed pedestrian was ‘unavoidable’
John Andrew Foyle, who lived in London, died after a crash which happened on the road between Swindon and Oxford at about 10pm on May 29, 2024. An inquest held by senior coroner Darren Salter at Oxford Coroner's Court on Tuesday, July 1, heard Mr Foyle had been visiting his parents for the week from London but had not returned from his evening walk. The 37-year-old was struck while crossing the A420 road by a purple Ford Fiesta and sustained 'unsurvivable' head injuries, which was his cause of death.
Mr Foyle, whose sister, mum and dad were present at the inquest, was subsequently run over by a second car. Emergency services, including an air ambulance, attended, but Mr Foyle was pronounced dead at the scene. In a tribute from Mr Foyle's family, read out on behalf of them by their barrister, Lois Norris, he was described as an 'extraordinary person' who was 'loving and much loved' and 'meant a great deal' to his loved ones.
A geophysicist in the oil and gas industry, the court heard that Mr Foyle was also an 'extremely talented musician'. The tribute added: "Most of all, he loved everyone and would not hesitate to show or tell you how much." The court heard Mr Foyle was intoxicated and was two-and-a-half times over the legal driving limit when he was struck.
He was wearing dark clothing and had not used a nearby pedestrian crossing to cross the road. 
Upon hitting the 37-year-old, the driver braked 'as hard as he could', the court heard. "Suddenly, he appeared from the right and in no time, he was in front of the car," he said. The court heard that Mr Saddique and the driver of a Jaguar pulled over after the crash and were trying to stop traffic.
Craig Henderson, the driver of the Honda that ran over Mr Foyle after he had already been hit by Mr Saddique, had been driving from Faringdon to his home back in Coventry and 'knows the route well'. 
He did a U-turn and returned to the scene, the court heard. Two days later he was questioned by police at West Midlands Police Station. No police action was taken against either of the drivers.
Police forensic collision investigator Olivia Godfrey gave evidence at the inquest and said contributing factors to the collision were Mr Foyle's level of intoxication, the decision to cross the road when and where he did, and the insufficient lighting levels. Concluding the inquest, Mr Salter said it is unknown as to why Mr Foyle continued walking into the path of a vehicle. "The reason might be that he was facing forward," he said.
"What we do not know is why he did not notice or look for the presence of the oncoming vehicle." Mr Salter noted there was 'no evidence of excessive speed' and said that Mr Saddique 'could not have avoided the collision'. He said that the second crash was 'also unavoidable'.
He said that there was 'no evidence' of suicidal ideation from Mr Foyle. Mr Salter did not order a prevention of future deaths report because he does not 'see any concerns to do with the scene'. "Ordinarily, we would expect a pedestrian to cross where there is a crossing," he added.
He also noted that it is 'not unusual for a rural road not to have lighting'.
Mr Salter said: "Very sadly, it comes down to Mr Foyle not looking sufficiently so that he could see the presence of the oncoming vehicle."
His death was concluded to be a road traffic collision.