Young farmer ‘took own life in panic after crash’
AYOUNG farmer who went missing after a serious crash on the A30 last year took his own life “in a panic”, an inquest has heard.
Jack Henry William Thomas, 21, disappeared from the scene of an early morning crash in June and was found dead the following day.
Jack, from Sennen, was reported missing at the time with his last known whereabouts being in the area of Chiverton Cross Roundabout at around 3am on Sunday, June 11. Devon and Cornwall Police believed that Jack had been travelling in a vehicle that was involved in a serious collision at the time.
Officers said they were concerned he may have sustained a serious injury and could require medical treatment. His body was found in the area the following day following extensive searches and heartfelt appeals from family, friends and young farmers across Cornwall.
An inquest hearing was held at Truro Coroners Court in Truro on Monday to establish the circumstances around his death. It heard the young farmer had been at the Royal Cornwall Show throughout that week drinking with friends and was returning home in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Jordan Williams and his girlfriend were in the other vehicle involved in the collision and were travelling to Birmingham. Mr Williams described seeing lights coming towards him in his lane on the A30 at around 3.30am and tried to swerve to miss it.
Mr Williams swerved to avoid a crash but the other car did the same at the last minute causing a head-on collision.
After checking his girlfriend was okay and getting out of the vehicle he went to check on the other driver.
“As I arrived at the other car a male opened the driver’s door and I asked if he was alright,” he said in a statement.
“I didn’t get a proper response just a grunt and a mumble.”
He said there were no visible or obvious injuries on Jack so he went back to help his girlfriend out of their vehicle. A delivery driver stopped almost immediately after to help.
By the time he’d got his girlfriend out of the car, Mr Williams said Jack had left the scene of the crash and later the youngster was deemed a high-risk missing person. Jack was located deceased in a nearby field more than 24 hours later by police.
Jack’s mum, Mrs Thomas, described how Jack went to primary school in St Buryan, followed by Cape Cornwall School and then studied A-levels at Penwith College in Penzance before securing a place to study agriculture at Harper Adams University. Having received very good grades throughout his education, it was his plan to eventually return to Cornwall and run the family farm with his father.
On the week of Jack’s death, she said he had been visiting home, having quality time with family and catching up with many of his friends who are young farmers. He was due to return to work in Ireland with a flight booked out of Newquay on the Sunday evening.
She thought Jack likely wanted to drive home to Sennen in the early hours of Sunday so he could rest before his travels and said while he had no known mental health problems, she believes Jack took his own life “while he was in a panic” after the crash saying he “always hated getting into trouble”.
“Jack will be greatly missed by the farming community as well as his friends and family,” she said. “We’ve spoken to staff at Harper Adams University and his colleagues at McCains and all have said what a friendly young man he was.”
She added that 1,000 people attended a celebration of life after his death which she said “speaks to the impact that he had on people”.
Detective Constable Katherine Rhodes with Devon and Cornwall Police explained the collision occurred between the old Chiverton Cross and Carland Cross, with Mr
Williams describing having already crossed Chiverton at the time of impact.
She said there were significant roadworks at the time due to the ongoing A30 upgrade between (the former) Chiverton Cross and Carland Cross but there were still two lanes on either side of the road at the time.
A post-mortem following the death found Jack had a blood alcohol level of 93mgs per 100ml, which is described as marginally over the drink-drive limit of 80mgs per 100ml. The coroner explained alcohol is also produced as part of the natural process of death so it is possible this level increased after death.
Andrew Cox, senior coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, recorded a conclusion of suicide.
“In her evidence, Mrs Thomas said she believes her son has panicked after this and I think that’s right,” he said, adding he doesn’t believe that what had happened to Jack could have happened by way of accident and that his death occurred deliberately.
Jack will be greatly missed by the farming community as well as his friends and family MOTHER OF JACK THOMAS