Driver killed in crash had been 'drinking all day' before taking to the wheel - inquest
A driver who took to the road after a day of boozing died at the scene of a crash after he lost control and broadsided an oncoming car, an inquest heard.
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Andrew Raymond Bevan, aged 35 of Hinwood Road, Westbury, near Shrewsbury had well over the legal limit of alcohol in his blood and a toxicologist also found he also had cocaine and cannabis in his system on November 17, 2023.
John Ellery, senior Shropshire coroner, was told that the front of the Vauxhall Corsa that Mr Bevan was driving had touched the grass verge before sliding sideways on the opposite carriageway. It was described by a witness as having "twitched" in the road.
Jack Whittall, who had been driving a Land Rover Freelander in the opposite direction described how he saw the Corsa sliding driver's side towards him outside Park Farm, in Minsterley on the B4499.
The Coroner's Court at Shirehall on Wednesday , was told that Mr Whittall had been a driver for 75 years and had never had any penalty points on his licence.
"All of a sudden I saw a car coming sideways towards me," he said in a statement.
"I braked as hard as I could to no avail. I was hit directly in front with an almighty bang."
Mr Whittall, who tried to help at the scene, said there was "nothing I could have done to avoid the crash. The driver had lost control and slid into me on my side of the road".
