Bus tragedy boy ‘may have stepped in road looking wrong way’
THE TEENAGE son of the drummer from The Levellers may have crossed in front of a bus because he looked the wrong way following a holiday to Italy, his father told an inquest into his death.
Charlie Heather’s son Alfie Harbord, who had been drinking, was involved in the crash on Brighton seafront at 12.45am on February 24.
Coroner Veronica HamiltonDeeley told the inquest at Brighton and Hove Coroner’s Court that the 15-year-old had been on a “fun night out” with a friend.
Miss Hamilton-Deeley described how Alfie had been walking home with the friend along Marine Parade when the teenager suddenly ran across the road at a crossing, having not seen the bus approaching at the speed limit of 30mph.
Mr Heather told the inquest that his son might have become confused over the direction of the traffic following his recent holiday.
He said: “As a musician, I work abroad a lot and it’s an easy mistake to make.”
Miss Hamilton-Deeley said that a post-mortem examination showed he died of “catastrophic head injuries”, and a toxicology report showed he had 242 mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.
She said that the “high level of alcohol” would have affected his judgment.
The coroner said that the friend’s family had been under the impression that Alfie had his parents’ consent to have a single drink.
Mr Heather said: “We didn’t allow or give any permission for Alfie to have alcohol.” Recording a verdict of accidental death, Miss Hamilton-Deeley said: “I do not imagine Alfie had any inkling of what he was going to do.”
Alfie’s family released a statement describing their son as a “bright, intelligent and popular boy”. The Levellers said in a statement they were “deeply saddened”.