Driver died in smash after freak hailstorm

DAD-OF-TWO HAD COCAINE IN HIS SYSTEM

A FATHER-OF-TWO died in a ‘catastrophic’ head-on collision after being caught out by a freak hailstorm.

Alex Henderson, 28, was tragically killed when his BMW crashed into an oncoming lorry on the A1 near Felton on April 4.

The groundworker was travelling south from his home in Alnwick when he lost control and skidded onto the wrong side of the road.

An inquest in his death was held at North Tyneside Coroner’s court.

The hearing was told that Mr Henderson had cocaine in his system at the time of the crash.

A forensic investigation revealed one of the car’s tyres was bald which also contributed to the loss of control.

The inquest heard that Mr Henderson had been at a friend’s house in Morpeth when they decided to head into Newcastle in the early hours of the morning.

Mr Henderson drove home to get changed before heading back south but he never made it.

According to Northumbria Police crash investigator Shane Askew, Mr Henderson’s fate was sealed when driving conditions became extremely hazardous by a sudden and unexpected wintry storm.

The single-carriage stretch of the A1 had not been gritted because the forecasted 2.2 degrees Celsius temperatures were above the level where councils have a legal responsibility to act.

But the weather turned out to be unpredictable, with one police officer travelling to the scene noting that it went from ‘driving rain to heavy hail’ suddenly and the road became ‘incredibly slippery.’

In a statement read out by coroner Eric Armstrong, the driver of the HGV said he saw the lights of Mr Henderson’s BMW up the road but they disappeared out of sight.

He then saw the car ‘going from right to left, moving sideways along the road.’ The driver said he ‘realised the car was going to hit him but did not have time to react or brake.’

Mr Henderson’s car was sent flying into the air, with the engine ending up 10m down the road and ‘catastrophic’ damage was caused to the entire vehicle.

He was pronounced dead shortly after paramedics arrived, despite efforts to rush him to Cramlington hospital.

The coroner said: “Once control was lost it was going to be a horrendous task to return it on a road surface like that with a tyre in that condition.”

He added: “Cocaine seems to be regarded as somewhat innocuous, but Alex’s death shows how wrong that impression is. It’s potentially lethal.”

Mr Henderson’s mother Lesley was too upset to attend the inquest.

In May she paid tribute to him, Alex Henderson saying: “I know that he knows I loved him desperately and unconditionally.

“I will never ever spend a day when he does not come into my mind.”