Head-on crash which killed driver happened during his 'inappropriate' attempt to overtake
A retired brewery worker died in a head-on crash after "inappropriately" trying to overtake a lorry on a rural Shropshire B-road, an inquest was told.
Brian Stephen Harrison had been driving his Honda from his home in Bushbury Lane, Wolverhampton, to his caravan at Lake Vyrnwy via the B4393 Alberbury Road, in Ford, near Shrewsbury, on July 10, 2023.
The inquest at the Coroner's Court at Shirehall, in Shrewsbury, on Thursday, was told that 72-year-old Mr Harrison had first overtaken a Volvo and returned to his side of the road, but went onto the opposite side of the road to overtake a DAF Truck.
But it was on an uphill stretch of road which rises to a crest and curves.
A police investigation found that an oncoming BMW did not have a chance to avoid the head-on collision and neither did Mr Harrision whose speedometer was stopped at 60mph by the collision. The truck's speed was recorded as 44mph on its tachograph.
Deputy Shropshire and Telford coroner Heath Westerman read a police statement that said the Honda at first rotated clockwise after colliding with the BMW. The Honda then collided with the rear of the DAF truck and was sent into a rapid spin in the opposite direction.
The investigation found that Mr Harrison had been projected from the driver's seat into the passenger seat by the force of the collisions. He died at the scene of multiple traumatic injuries.
