The death of an Oldham restaurant owner has 'left a hole' in the world of his family and friends, an inquest has heard. 34-year-old Karl Young died of 'multiple injuries' after a horror crash in the Delph area on the evening of November 10 last year.
An inquest at Rochdale Coroners' Court heard Karl was driving a Mazda 3 with close friend former BBC actor Reiss Jarvis, 21, when at around 8.40pm the car came off Huddersfield Road at 'excessive speed', collided with a tree, and ended in an embankment in a farmers field. The pair were returning to Oldham after visiting a fish shop in Marsden, West Yorkshire. Mr Jarvis died at the scene, but Mr Young was rushed to hospital where he later died of multiple serious injuries.
Mr Young ran The Grill at No.20 restaurant in Oldham Town Centre with his partner, Susan Watkins. A statement from her read by Assistant Coroner Matthew Cox said: "He took me and my cousin to the airport around 7am (on November 10).
"Reiss was always with us and loved spending time with us and we loved him as part of the family. I let him know I was at my hotel around 5.40pm and he said they were going to the chip shop.
"I tried to call him again around 9.45 but I didn't get an answer. I then got a call from a neighbour saying there was a police car outside our house but I told him I was in Tenerife.
"He then said about a collision in Delph and I knew then it was Karl. When I heard both had been killed I fell to the floor and screamed, it all became a blur after this.
"I didn't want to believe it was true. We all miss him every moment of every hour.
"He is remembered in our hearts, I always try and put a brave face on when I leave the house. I miss him so much, it's left a hole in our families and friends lives.
"If ever anyone needed anything they would go to him, he was so knowledgeable about so many things. I feel so sad for Karl and all the things he will miss out on."
A statement from Police Sergeant Neil Pennington of GMP's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, described that there were no witnesses to the crash, with a passer-by calling 999, meaning they do not know how long they were trapped in the car wreckage for. The vehicle had been 'extensively' damaged by the collision but the manufacturers were able to examine the airbag to find out how fast the car had been travelling in the five seconds before the collision.
It was found the car had been travelling at 110mph before the crash, hitting the tree at around 58mph. The speed limit of Huddersfield Road is 50mph.
PS Pennington added: "Around 8.40pm Karl Young was driving a Mazda when for an unknown reason he lost control while driving along the A62 with Reiss Jarvis as a front seat passenger. The car left the carriageway before colliding with a tree and continuing down an embankment into a farmers field."
The road was not lit but was dry and the vehicle was found to have no defects. The vehicle was 'extensively damaged', the court heard. "Both died as a result of the collision," PS Pennington said.
A family tribute issued soon after Karl's death, said: ""Karl was one of life’s truly lovely and genuine people. He was kind, gentle and loved by so many. He was a lifelong Oldham Athletic fan, and keen sports enthusiast, who loved to travel and led a full life surrounded by a large family and many friends.
“It’s beyond words how much we will miss Karl. Losing him is unbearable and has left a huge void in our lives. Our hearts are broken and our lives will never be the same but we had the absolute pleasure and honour of being part of his life and sharing so many happy times together. That is our only comfort at this dark time.”
Coroner Mr Cox concluded that Mr Young, of Beckett Street, Lees, died as a result of a road traffic collision. Pathologist Dr Emil Salmo, who carried out a post-mortem on Mr Young, said that there was no alcohol or drugs involved in his death, and determined his cause of death as 'multiple injuries'.
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