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Accident verdict after head-on crash
A man died after his car got crushed under a lorry on a St Helens country lane.
An inquest into the death of John Paul Highcock was held at St Helens Hospital on Tuesday (January 15).
The 29-year-old was trapped for 90 minutes as emergency services fought to free him from the wreckage.
Coroner Christopher Sumner heard how his Peugeot 307 had been on the wrong side of the road when it ploughed head-on into a Scannier truck travelling in the opposite direction.
The accident, on Chapel Lane in Lea Green, took place on December 20, 2006. Mr Highcock, of Jubits Lane, had been travelling to work.
He suffered serious head injuries and multiple fractures after his car became lodged underneath the lorry. Both vehicles continued to travel a further 16m down the road before coming to a halt.
He was rushed to Whiston Hospital but died nine days later in the intensive care unit. The two-laned windy road has a sign advising that heavy goods vehicles should not use it.
His devastated family asked the court if something could be put in place banning lorries from using road.
Constable Derek Partridge, an accident investigator for Merseyside Police, said: "There was a sign advising that such heavy goods vehicles should not travel on the road. But there was enough room for both the car and the lorry to pass safely.
"From the skid marks on the kerb at the side of the road it clear to see that the lorry had tried to get out of the way of the other vehicle, Mr Highcock's Peugeot 307. The driver, David Dean had mounted the pavement in an effort to let the other car past.
"If Mr Highcock had been on the right side of the road then the accident would not have happened."
Mr Sumner agreed with the evidence from the accident investigators, PC Derek Partridge and acting Sergeant Shaun MacKellar.
He said: "I can only come to the same decision as the police and that Mr Highcock was on the wrong side of the road when he hit the HGV."
John Paul, known to his loved ones as Paul or JP, was a loving father to Megan, 11, Georgia, 7, and was expectant father of little Emily, born three months after his tragic death.
After the inquest, his cousin, Tony, said: "He was like a brother to me. We are a big family but a very close one and we miss Paul terribly. He was a joker, full of life and would do anything for anybody.
"He was fiercely loyal and would do anything for his kids. Nothing can bring him back, but we just hope no other family has to go through what we have endured. That road is too narrow for such large lorries."
Verdict: Accidental death.
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Weather for St Helens
Tuesday 21 May 2013
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