A teenager with a promising future drowned when the car he was travelling in ended up upside down in a water filled ditch following an accident, an inquest heard.
Bailey Granger, drowned in the front seat of the Vauxhall Astra he was a passenger in after it was almost totally submerged in the dyke.
The ditch had already filled with rainwater when the car crash took place around 1.30pm on January 9, 2020.
Despite the brave efforts of the driver Charlie Nicholson and fellow passengers, Owen Gorman and Kian Thomson, they were unable to free 18-year-old Granger, who tragically died at the scene.
All four had been hanging from their seatbelts in the overturned car which lost control on the single track road around, according to Grimsby Live.
The road was described by police as “a track with fields on either side”. The students had gone off in Charlie’s car to enjoy a McDonald’s takeaway during the lunch break.
Emergency services attempted to revive Bailey once he was freed. Assistant coroner for North East Lincolnshire, Marianne Johnson told the inquest at Cleethorpes Town Hall that Bailey suffered concussion in the initial collision, as the Astra ploughed into the ditch, hitting the embankment and rolling over.
She said Bailey had died as a result of a road traffic collision.
In tribute to her son, mother Sharon Granger, of Gainsborough, said he was “a credit to the family.” He was studying media and computing at John Leggott College and was planning to study at the University of Lincoln.
His mother said in a statement read at the inquest: “He was a model pupil. He enjoyed his time at John Leggott College. It brought him out of himself. He was going from strength-to-strength.
“He had five unconditional offers from universities and had set his heart on studying at Lincoln to do computer science and gaming. He loved playing music on his guitar.
She added: “He was down-to-earth and a genuine lad. He was a credit to his family.”
She said it was a comfort to read the book of condolences signed by his college friends. Two memorial benches have been installed at the college in memory of Bailey.
Kian Thomson told how they arranged to go for a McDonald’s at lunchtime and had played shotgun and ran to see who could get the front seat of Charlie’s black Astra.
After buying the meals they drove to a layby and spent five minutes eating before driving back to college along Farmer’s Lane.
He said they were all chatting and laughing on the journey to college. The driver slowed due to bumps in the road. But the car lost control after hitting some mud and careered off the road into the ditch.
It is believed Lewis Robinson, pictured, had taken a detour to cross the Humber Bridge before he died in an accident on the M180 near Scunthorpe. He was described as “a caring son with a heart of gold”.
Kian said he was upside down and the car which was filled with water. His passenger door would not open because it was wedged against the embankment.
He said in a statement read at the inquest he managed to release himself from the rear seat and squeeze through a small gap in the door on the other side of the car. The driver had released himself and crawled up the steep embankment before calling 999.
Owen joined them after crawling from the upturned vehicle which was submerged in water.
Kian said: “If Charlie had had the child locks on the rear doors, I would not be here.”
The three students then attempted to force open the boot and go in through the rear seat. Emergency services arrived quickly and tried to resuscitate Bailey.
Owen said he had always felt safe in Charlie’s car. He said: “His driving has never given me any cause for concern."
He said they were singing along to music when the car went over a bump and rolled over into the ditch.
He added: “I am deeply upset by what happened. It was a terrifying experience being upside down and submerged in the ditch.”
In a statement to police, driver Charlie Thomson said he tried to control the car by steering in the opposite direction when the back end of the car went. He said the road was uneven and had got in to a worse condition since he had last driven on it.
Police officers struggled to free the front seat passenger due to the depth of the water in the 6ft ditch. Forensic collision investigator, Darrell McPherson said the driver was not speeding on the road which has a 60mph limit.
He said the road disintegrated in its quality near to where the car lost control.
He said: “It is worse than a back road. A track is a closer description. It is used only by people who know it with the access to fields used as passing places. The rear wheel on the offside mounted earth at the side of the road causing it to lose control and it went into the ditch, struck the bank and rolled the car.”
He said it was the responsibility of the driver to drive to the conditions of the road. He said the loss of control was due to the inexperience of the driver.
Assistant coroner Marianne Johnson said: “It must have been terrifying for them in the car. My heart goes out to them and my condolences go to Bailey’s family as he he had everything to live for and was a credit to his family.”
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