Father died after attempting to overtake lorry on A66 in North Yorkshire

Ian Hughes’ car veered across the A66 westbound, near Richmond, and bounced off the safety barrier before it was hit by a lorry, at around 9.30am on Wednesday, January 6 last year.

Drivers who witnessed the crash attempted to help the 54-year-old window cleaner, before he was taken to The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

The father-of-one, who suffered traumatic head injuries and a number of fractures and severe lacerations, spent six days in intensive care before he was pronounced dead at 9.30pm on January 12.

An inquest into his death heard forensic collision investigators were unable to determine the cause of the collision, but Mr Hughes may have lost control after he hit a patch of snow and slush on the dual carriageway.

Alexander Cash, who was driving the lorry, said he was travelling at less than 50mph when he saw the car swerve and collide with the safety barrier.

Mr Cash told the inquest at Northallerton Coroners Court that he steered into the right-hand lane and attempted to drive around the car, but it “bounced back into” his 40-tonne lorry.

“There's nothing I could actually do about it,” he said. “He bounced straight back into me. It all just happened that quick.”

North Yorkshire Police officers interviewed the lorry driver and found that he was not at fault. They found that he was not using his phone or under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the collision.

Assistant coroner Jonathan Heath recorded a verdict of death by road traffic collision.

The coroner said: “For an unknown reason, he lost control of his car. Probably the reason that he did lose control was the snow and sludge that was on the road surface.”

He added: “It’s clear from what I’ve read and heard that there’s nothing Mr Cash could have done which would have meant the collision would not have taken place.”

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