Young couple killed in crash after sign rotated
A PREGNANT teenager and her boyfriend died in a crash after a give way sign had been turned the wrong way, an inquest heard.
Jessica Poole, an 18-yearold lifeguard, and Josh Alexander, 21, a personal trainer, died from their injuries at the scene of the crash in June last year.
The couple’s car collided with a skip lorry at the crossroad junction of Plurenden Road and Bethersden Road in Woodchurch, near Ashford at about 5pm.
Pc Simon Masterson, a forensic collision investigator at Kent Police, told the inquest: “There were no warning signs at Plurenden Road of the crossroads ahead. This could have caused confusion to the driver approaching. The worn lines and the rotated sign could have been a contributing factor.”
The give way sign on Plurenden Road was rotated 61 degrees and road markings were faded in several places, the court heard. The couple had been on their way to work at a Chinese takeaway in Tenterden, to earn extra money before the arrival of their baby son.
Katrina Hepburn, a coroner, wrote to Kent County Council to see what changes have been made to the junction since the accident before considering whether she will write a “prevention of future deaths” report.
The inquests at Oakwood House in Maidstone heard that Mr Alexander was believed to have been using a sat nav app on his phone before driving his Vauxhall Corsa across the junction and into the path of the skip lorry. Since the accident, the lines have been repainted and the give way sign has been put back to the correct position.
The skip lorry dash camera footage suggested that Mr Alexander was briefly distracted by his phone before he approached the junction.
Pc Masterson said there was “nothing the lorry driver was physically able to do to avoid the collision”, and no drugs or alcohol were found in the couple’s system.
Ms Hepburn said: “There was nothing to suggest they were travelling at excessive speed. While we speculate about whether or not he saw the sign, or if the mobile phone was in use, I don’t make any findings in relation to this.”
A spokesman for the council said: “We are aware of the inquests and we await the letter from the coroner.”
Mr Alexander’s father, Ben Sissens, said he wanted to put pressure on the council to improve the safety of the road.