Reece Harnetty, 19, died when his Mini Clubman burst into flames after crashing into the rear of a parked lorry in a layby in Suffolk.
An inquest at Suffolk Coroners’ Court in Ipswich was told Reece, of Ilmington Drive, Basildon had turned sharply from the outside lane into the layby at Creeting St Mary, near Needham Market on January 20.
The Toxicology tests ruled out the presence of alcohol or drugs and forensic accident investigator PC Jeff Cribb said there were no defects identified with the car, although a full examination wasn’t possible because of the fire damage. No faults were found with the road surface either.
Witness Dan Braun was travelling past just feet away when the crash occurred. He described how the Mini hadn’t slowed or changed course as it turned sharply towards the lorry.
Hmmm, seems deliberate. Or that other modern day scourge...?
There was no evidence that Mr Harnetty was using his phone at the time of the accident although checks had shown he had used it shortly before the crash.
Nope. Who was he calling?
It is believed he was upset following relationship problems with a girl he had met online.
The inquest heard that in phone calls prior to the accident, Reece refused to say where he was but was heard sobbing as he said: “didn’t want to be here anymore” and ending his last call without saying goodbye to the female, Alicia Watts.
Case closed!
His mother Wendy Harnetty suggested her son, who had only passed his test last May, could have mistaken the layby for the inside lane on the road as he wasn’t a regular on that route.
I can see why she'd like to think so.
Suffolk Area Coroner Nigel Parsley said: “We won’t ever fully know, regrettably, what made Reece turn into that layby. There are some unanswered questions here, however, there is insufficient evidence to suggest that Reece intended to take his life.”
At the inquest on Wednesday, Mr Parsley recorded a conclusion that teenager died as a result of a road traffic collision.
*boggle*
2 comments:
We had a similar result when a friend of a friend was accidentally killed by a train. The police sergeant in charge of the case assured us that in all his many years he had never seen a potential suicide carry a full suitcase, park neatly and lock their car beforehand. We assured him, in turn, that had it been suicide, being that kind of person, she would have written to everyone beforehand saying it was THEIR fault. The coroner returned a verdict of suicide.
Baffling, isn't it?
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