Man who drove wrong way on M6 would have been charged over four deaths – inquest

An RAF pilot who drove in the wrong direction on a motorway and killed a family in a head-on collision would have been charged with manslaughter had he survived, an inquest has heard.

Richard Woods, 40, drove 1.1 miles on the fast lane of the northbound carriageway of the M6 near Tebay, Cumbria, for at least 57 seconds as several motorists had to swerve to avoid him on the afternoon of October 15 last year.

Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, also attempted to steer clear of Mr Woods’s Skoda Fabia but he did not have time to react to the oncoming vehicle, which was travelling at a speed of at least 65mph, Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard.

Mr Rossa, his partner Jade McEnroe, 33, and Mr Rossa’s sons Filip, 15 and Dominic, seven, all from Glasgow, Scotland, were killed in the crash, along with Mr Woods.

Miss McEnroe’s seven-year-old son, Arran, survived his injuries after a workman jumped out of his Transit van and used a jack to smash the rear windscreen of Mr Rossa’s Toyota Yaris and pulled him out from the burning vehicle.

Recording conclusions of unlawful killing, Cumbria coroner Margaret Taylor said: “I found that Jaroslaw, Jade, Filip and Dominic died as a consequence of the unlawful acts of another driver.”

The family were returning from a trip to Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire, when the collision happened between junction 38 and 39 at 4.05pm.

Mr Woods, from Cambridgeshire, was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.

The coroner was told that Mr Woods was previously seen drifting “erratically” between lanes and the hard shoulder as he travelled north, with one motorist describing how she was “terrified” as the driver of the Skoda repeatedly braked harshly in front of wagons and trucks.

The Skoda later pulled into the hard shoulder and in a “controlled manoeuvre” from a stationary position then completed a U-turn across to lane three of the carriageway and drove southwards.

Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, of Cumbria Police’s serious road collision investigation unit, told the inquest that Mr Woods would have been prosecuted on four counts of manslaughter had he lived.

She said she noted that Mr Woods went from “putting himself” against larger vehicles where only he would be likely to be harmed to “putting himself” against smaller vehicles in which the “likelihood of harm to other people is significantly high”.

The officer went on: “My assessment of all of the evidence was that Mr Woods deliberately caused the collision.

“Had Mr Woods survived, regardless of any injuries, I would have sought four charges of manslaughter.”

She said  hypothetical charges of murder were considered by detectives but not thought appropriate because of a lack of information that Mr Woods knew the family or anything that provided a link between them.

Miss McEnroe’s parents, Marie McEnroe and George McNellis, told the coroner they thought it was murder.

Ms McEnroe said: “It was definitely murder. That’s the only word.”

Mr McNellis said: “He definitely murdered my daughter.”

In a statement to the inquest, workman Gavin Walsh said he was a passenger in a Transit van travelling to Scotland which was behind the Toyota Yaris at the time of the collision.

He said he noticed a blue car travelling “extremely fast” and heading towards the Yaris which he said “had no time” to avoid the oncoming vehicle.

Mr Walsh jumped out of the van towards the front of the Yaris which was “already engulfed in flames”.

He said: “I could hear screams coming from the car.

“I used a jack to smash the rear windscreen and I saw a little boy in the back seat who appeared to be stuck but possibly alive.

“I was able to pull him from his seat and took him away from the car.

“The boy was conscious and breathing. We spoke about football and what school he went to, I was just trying to keep him awake.

“We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.

“I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.

“God bless you Arran, I have never stopped thinking about you. I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.”

A statement from the mother of Filip and Dominic and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, Kamila, was read out at the inquest in her presence.

She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.

He loved playing computer games and had “lots of friends”, she said, and worked at the Wagamama restaurant in Silverburn, Glasgow.

She said she last saw her sons when they left for their father’s house on October 10 for a holiday break and was sent photographs of them by Mr Rossa at Legoland on October 14.

She said she was “devastated” at the deaths and added: “Our lives will never be the same.

“I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.”

Filip was “very intelligent”, “very sensitive” and “full of love” and had an ambition to study chemistry at Glasgow University, she said.

She added that Dominic loved Pokemon and dinosaurs and was “interested in many things in the world around him”.

He dreamt of adopting a penguin one day, she said, and was “always smiling, extremely caring and always thinking of others first”.

Ms McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years.

She said Miss McEnroe was a “brilliant mother” to her only child, was “really happy” with Mr Rossa and it was “lovely chaos” when all the boys were playing together.

Ms McEnroe told the inquest that “life changed forever that day”.

She went on: “I miss Jade every single day. I want to know why? Why them?

“Arran keeps us going every single day.”

Last week at a separate inquest Ms Taylor concluded that Mr Woods’s death was suicide.

Numerous searches on the subject of suicide were found on his mobile phone, the court was told.

On Thursday, Ms Taylor said the Skoda driver had “totally disregarded the safety” of other drivers on the M6 on October 15..

Mr Rossa died from multiple injuries, Miss McEnroe died from smoke inhalation and trauma, Filip died of smoke inhalation, possible burns and trauma, while Dominic died of trauma.

The coroner praised the “selfless acts of bravery” from those at the aftermath of the collision including Mr Walsh who went towards the burning car “without hesitation for his own safety”.

She said: “Without his swift response, Jade’s child would also have perished.”

Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: “Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that.

“I wish you strength for the future.”