Brother died in crash after birthday drinks
A Polish man died when he hit a lamp-post and rolled his car after celebrating his 26th birthday with his brother, an inquest was told.
Arkadiusz Banaszek, died on January 13. The factory worker who was from Handsworth Wood Road in Handsworth, crashed his Peugeot 206 into a lamp-post on Sandwell Road, close to The Hawthorns, in the early hours, after he had been out celebrating the night before. He died from multiple organ failure caused by a traumatic brain injury, five days later at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
At the inquest at Smethwick Council House yesterday, investigating officer Pc Paul Robbins said Mr Banaszek had been out drinking the night before.
His brother Sylwester said in interview that he had gone to bed the night before at 9pm and was woken by Mr Banaszek at around 2am to go to buy flowers and some alcohol.
Pc Robbins said: "Sylwester said on the way back his brother was driving quite fast when the car's steering wheel locked, and the car was spinning.
"Sylwester wasn't wearing his seatbelt but doesn't recall if his brother was.
"The car collided with a lamp-post and rolled over on to its roof.
"He managed to get out and pulled his brother from the car in case there was a fire," Pc Robbins added.
Black Country coroner Robin Balmain confirmed there were 94 milligrams of alcohol in Mr Banaszek's blood at the time of the accident.
Pc Robbins said the car was being driven in excess of 30mph when it hit the lamp-post, and then went into two parked cars, although it cannot be determined exactly how fast it was going.
He said when he arrived at the scene the car was on its roof and the lamp-post was lying across the road. The engine became detached from the car and continued down the road, with the gearbox and other parts.
Pc Robbins added that a transit van parked at the side of the road may have cause Mr Banaszek to swerve, and this led to the accident.
Recording his verdict of a road traffic collision, Mr Balmain said: "The message for the public is don't drive too fast on restricted roads, or any road for that matter, and particularly not to drive when you've been drinking."
