Driver killed in village crash was travelling at 104mph when car hit pole
A driver was speeding at more than 100mph when he lost control of his Ford Kuga on a bend in the road and hit a telegraph pole in south Shropshire, an inquest heard.
Painter and decorator John Pennell, aged 37 and of Kingstanding in Birmingham, had been staying with family in a caravan in Churchstoke on September 3.
He was more than twice the legal drink-drive limit when the crash happened.
Pc Chris Duffner told senior coroner John Ellery in a statement that no-one had seen the crash in Chirbury but residents were woken up by the noise at around 11.45pm. Mr Pennell had been the only person in the car.
Pc Duffner described a "catastrophic collision sequence" after the Kuga mounted a verge in the 30mph zone, hit a telegraph pole and then rotated until it came to rest.
Pc Duffner said that while the section of straight A490 road from Churchstoke to Chirbury could technically be negotiated at speed it was "reckless" and endangered life to do so.
"It would have been impossible to stop the Ford at the junction with the B road," said Pc Duffner. "Approaching vehicles on the B road would have had no view."
There was also a 90 degree bend in the road ahead.
The coroner's court at Shirehall, Shrewsbury, heard on Wednesday that the car's speed had been logged on a second-by-second basis in the car's GPS system. Its speed when it hit the telegraph pole was recorded at 104mph.
It had consistently recorded speeds from 70mph to 100mph on the single carriageway A road, on a dry and clear night where the temperature reached 12C (53.6F). There was no evidence of mechanical failure on the car or a defect, or contamination of the road surface.
Mr Ellery recorded that Mr Pennell had lost control of the car due to speed and the level of alcohol in his system. He had 199 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80.
Mr Ellery gave Mr Pennell's widow, who was listening to proceedings online, his condolences for her loss.
