Mystery remains over great-grandad's death crash

William Alfred Mitchell, 84, died in hospital three days after the crash on a country road, which also left his wife, Jean, with serious injuries.

The couple, from Norwood Gardens, Southwell, had to be cut free from their Skoda Fabia following the crash on the A612 near the village of Upton on March 9 this year.

Mr Mitchell, who was behind the wheel, appeared to negotiate a bend in the road in a ‘jerky way’, one witness said, before the vehicle then drifted across the road and into the path of a Vauxhall Astra carrying a husband, wife and a child.

The inquest into Mr Mitchell’s death was held at Nottingham Coroners’ Court this week, where it was heard that neither the Astra or Mr Mitchell’s Skoda had been speeding.

In fact, it was thought that Mr Mitchell had been travelling at around 40mph, well under the 60mph national speed limit.

Mrs Mitchell, to whom he was married to for 62 years, has since gone on to recover from her injuries but still has no recollection of the crash.

She was not at the inquest, although around 10 members of Mr Mitchell’s family were present.

The inquest was told that Mr Mitchell, who has 13 great-grandchildren, had a series of medical issues before his death, including chest infections and chronic pulmonary obstructive disease.

A post-mortem found that he had no drugs or alcohol in his system, but had traces of morphine consistent with previous treatment he had in hospital.

However, Jane Gillespie, assistant coroner for Nottinghamshire ruled this out as a contributory factor.

“There were a number of medical issues and he was on a great deal of medication, but none meant that he could not drive,” she added.

Forensic collision investigator, PC David Abbott told the inquest that there had been no skid marks left on the road, but could not be certain if either car had braked heavily because the surface was damp prior to the crash.

The female passenger in the Astra said she saw Mr Mitchell’s face before the impact and said he even looked like he was asleep.

But Miss Gillespie said there was no medical evidence to suggest this.

She added: “This is a tragic case. Mr Mitchell was 84-year-old and clearly had a large and loving family.

“My role is to answer the question of why Mr Mitchell died, and the answer to that question is I simply don’t know.

“There is no explanation in the evidence to explain Mr Mitchell’s action on that day.

“I am very sorry that this inquest is not able to consider this question for the family.

“The most appropriate conclusion is one of accidental death.”