Tragic final moments of man who died when he crashed his car into a tree

A man who died in a car crash in Newark had a cocktail of alcohol and drugs in his system when he died, an inquest into his death has been told. Wilf Harvey-Davies, 23, was killed when the VW Golf he was driving struck a tree on Barnby Road, in Newark, on July 15 this year.

The former Nottingham Trent University student had been at The Duck pub on Castle Gate in the town on the night of Saturday, July 14, before leaving at around 2.50am. A friend whom he had seen on the night described him as being in good spirits and the pair waved goodbye to each other before parting ways at the end of the evening.

But Mr Harvey-Davies then rang another friend, the inquest was told, telling her that he was looking for the friend he had just left behind. She described him as being inebriated and slurring his words.

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Mr Harvey-Davies was seen going back to the pub and telling someone he was looking for his friend, the hearing was told. He then walked off again in the direction of his flat, which was in walking distance of the pub.

But in the meantime, he told the friend he had called that he was going to come and pick her up. In a police statement, she explained to police that she had texted back, telling him to go to sleep at around 4.02am.

But Wilf, whom a friend said would never drink if he knew he was to be the designated driver, had already got into his vehicle at around 3.50am. He drove at between 41 and 51 miles per hour towards his friend's house down the rural Barnby Road, which has a speed limit of 30mph, the inquest, which took place at Nottingham Council House on Monday (November 4), was told.

At around 3.57am, he lost control on a bend and hit a tree, causing a significant chest injury, breaking his breastbone and ribs and causing significant damage to his lungs and heart. Tragically, no-one had seen the incident happen, and police were not called until an hour and a half later at 5.27am. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The inquest was told how Mr Harvey-Davies was more than 2.5 times over the legal alcohol driving limit. He also had cocaine and MDMA in his system at the time of his death, the hearing was told.

It was also noted in the inquest how his car's ABS (anti-lock braking system) was not working, meaning that when he realised he had approached the bend too fast and braked, his wheels locked and he would have had no control over the direction of the vehicle. The tyre tracks on the road indicated this was a good explanation as to what had happened, the hearing was told.

Giving evidence, forensic collision officer Sergeant Dave Abbott said: "The tyre marks were quite dark and led all the way to the vehicle. In modern cars with a functioning ABS, we would usually only see short marks spaced at intervals, indicating that the wheels had unlocked intermittently to allow the car to be steered."

The car would have failed its next MOT, it was added. Concluding, Coroner Nathaniel Hartley gave a short-form conclusion of a road traffic collision.

He ruled Wilf's cause of death as "1c mixed drug & alcohol toxicity". He said: "I'm sure Wilf is missed by many people."

His family previously said: “It has been a complete shock to us as a family, coming to terms with him not being here anymore. If it was not for our faith, it would be unbearable. It has brought us together and the amount of support we have received from family, friends and those who knew him has been amazing.

“We can’t believe one person has touched so many lives at such a young age. Wilf was the type of person that wouldn’t want us to be sad. He would want us to carry on.”