A303 crash inquest: Elderly couple die after medical episode
John Boyall, 81, and Joan Margaret Boyall, 80, died in a car crash on the westbound carriageway of the A303 between Bullington and Norton on November 6, 2024. An inquest into the deaths of the couple, who were both former teachers, took place at Winchester Coroner's Court on Tuesday, July 29. Coroner Nicholas Walker read a statement from a family member, which explained that the couple, who lived in Leicestershire, had visited family in Suffolk before driving to Winchester to visit another relative.
It was on the journey back home from Winchester to Leicester when the crash happened. The family member described the pair as "a very active couple, both appeared very well and in good spirits. "Joan had enjoyed a walk along the South Downs just days before she died.
"Both of them were former teachers, John a sports teacher and Joan a primary school[1] teacher, they were looking forward to their upcoming holiday in New Zealand." The court heard that on the day of the crash, which happened around 11.20am, John, who had a history of heart disease, was driving a silver/beige Volvo XC90 in the left hand lane when his foot depressed the accelerator pedal to roughly 90mph, causing his car to drift and strike the offside rear of a Toyota Aygo in front of him. Traffic was moving slower than the speed limit.
The court heard that the driver of the Toyota would have had no time to react, as the vehicle was forced off-road and rolled at least once into a nearby treeline. The driver suffered serious injuries, but the court heard they are recovering slowly. John's Volvo then veered off-road into a layby, where a Renault lorry was parked.
The car drove into the back of the lorry at 53mph and both John and Joan suffered fatal injuries. Paramedics pronounced them both dead at the scene. Hampshire Constabulary's forensic collision investigator, PC Anthony Clifford, spoke at the inquest to explain the findings of the investigation.
He said: "It is my opinion that the likely cause of the collision was Mr Boyall likely suffering a medical episode prior to the collision." Coroner Nicholas Walker said that their deaths were the result of "a tragic sequence of events". "John and Joan had just enjoyed a period of time staying with a relative.
"Both suffered catastrophic injuries, and I am certain they died almost immediately. "I am not able to say what kind of medical episode or what the cause of the medical episode was, but I am satisfied that all evidence indicates that John suffered a medical episode of an unknown cause, which caused him to have his foot depressed on the accelerator, which caused him to lose control. "It must have been utterly tragic for those family members to have lost them in such a way, and I send my sincere condolences."
If you would like any help with bereavement, loss or mental wellbeing, here are some helpline numbers: Call the Samaritans on 116 123 or go online at samaritans.org Child Bereavement UK 0800 028 8840 childbereavementuk.org
Cruse Bereavement Care 0808 808 1677 cruse.org.uk
Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS) 0300 111 5065 uksobs.org