A student cycled into the path of a speeding motorist who couldn’t realistically have stopped in time, an inquest has heard. Sport fanatic Joshua Fletcher, from Pillgwenlly in Newport, died immediately from a skull fracture when he was struck on the Southern Distributor Road (A48) beside the Blaina Wharf pub by a Ford Focus being driven by William Davies on October 16, 2020 at 12.52pm.
While police investigations established that Mr Davies had been driving at 48mph in the 40mph zone heading west on the A48 for at least 42 metres, the court heard that Mr Fletcher “failed to cross the road safely” at the time of the crash, hadn’t been wearing a helmet and had earphones on with music playing.
Mr Fletcher had been travelling home from college when he crossed the eastbound carriageway safely while pedestrian lights were on green and traffic lights were on red, but the hearing heard how the 16-year-old seemed to have misjudged the second set of lights on the westbound carriageway when he reached the crossing in the middle of the road.
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Traffic had stopped on the westbound side in the right turn only filter lane, and Mr Fletcher decided to cross. But the other two lanes travelling straight were on green. Investigations found that Mr Davies would likely have seen Mr Fletcher appear from the filter lane 4.2m before the impact.
Forensic collision investigator Police Constable Richard Wyatt told the inquest at Newport Coroners' Court about the evidence they’d found from their investigations at the scene. He said that evidence gathered using road skid marks, dash cam footage and eyewitness accounts showed Mr Davies’ stop time, which was 0.26 seconds, was “really quick and almost instinctive”. Senior Coroner for Gwent Caroline Saunders clarified: “It would not have been possible for Mr Davies to stop any quicker.” To which PC Wyatt responded: “That’s correct.”
From skid marks on the road, and distance the Ford Focus travelled after emergency braking, officers established that Mr Davies had been travelling 8mph above the speed limit at the time of the collision. Ms Saunders said: “Had Mr Davies been travelling at 40mph prior to when that footage started he would have been travelling at a distance of three metres per second slower, so he would have missed Joshua.” PC Wyatt responded: “Yes, but that is purely hypothetical.”
Louise Aspray, representing Mr Davies who wasn’t in court, pointed out that PC Wyatt had used the words “possibly” and “may have” when referring to whether the 8mph difference could have meant the driver missed Mr Fletcher. “Does that mean we need to apply double caution?” she asked. PC Wyatt responded: “Yes.”
PC Wyatt explained that Joshua had headphones inside the hood of his hoody, his phone was actively playing music and he was not wearing a cycle helmet. He added: “My main concern is that Joshua didn’t have a helmet on."
In a police statement read to the court Mr Davies said he believed he was driving at the 40mph speed limit. He said he blinked and saw "a boy on a bike" without "any time to react".
Eyewitness Brian Roberts, who was sitting in his car in the right filter lane on the westbound carriageway waiting to turn towards the Blaina Wharf, said he saw Mr Fletcher “going at a fair rate stood up on his pedals”. He said his “personal interpretation was that the cyclist misjudged the traffic lights”.
Ms Saunders issued a formal conclusion of a road traffic collision. She said: “On the balance of probabilities the excess speed at the time Mr Davies was driving has more than minimally contributed to Joshua’s death. That said, it is clear that Joshua decided to cross the busy road when it was not safe to do so. He was distracted by headphones and was not wearing a helmet.
"Joshua's death was caused by a combination of factors: Joshua failing to cross the road safely, him not heeding oncoming traffic or the traffic lights, and the excess speed at which the car was being driven."
Mr Fletcher’s mother Terri Fletcher paid tribute to her son in a statement read out in court. “He was a happy, joyful, caring young man and he was dearly loved by all of his family,” she said, telling the court how he regularly played cricket and competed in athletics at school from a young age, but that his sporting passion was rugby, which he played for Pill Harriers. “His aim was to become a mechanic and he’d applied for an apprenticeship," she added. "He was a lovely boy who would do anything for anyone. I was very lucky I had a lovely relationship with him."
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