Killer driver, 80, who drove wrong way up motorway had brain cancer
A PENSIONER who killed himself and two others by driving the wrong way on the M40 had brain cancer.
John Norton, 80, had been acting strangely in the days before he towed a caravan four miles in the wrong direction.
Fellow passenger Olive Howard, 87, and the driver of a Ford Mondeo, Stuart Richards, 32, were also killed in the smash near Tetsworth, Oxfordshire, last October.
Dr Moniker Hofer, who provided a brain report, told Oxford Coroner’s Court that Mr Norton’s brain was ‘significantly swollen’ and had undiagnosed cancerous lesions.
Dr Nicholas Hunt, who carried out the post-mortem report, said the lesions were likely to be ‘deposits from primary bladder cancer’, and ‘would be able to impair brain function and cognitive function to a significant degree’.
The bladder cancer, which Mr Norton was being treated for, is believed to have metastasised in the brain, but neither doctors nor the DVLA were aware of the medical issue before the crash.
The court heard the retired foreign exchange banker, who was divorced, drove his 4x4 at 60 to 70mph down the northbound carriageway before it hit Mr Richards’ car, closing the road for 14 hours. Witnesses described how Mr Norton appeared oblivious to what he was doing, despite drivers using their horns and lights. Stuart Gauld, who drove alongside Mr Norton’s vehicle on the correct side, said he tried to get the attention of the elderly pair ‘but they did not appear to notice’.
Patricia Young, a friend of the couple who were described as ‘companions’, said she was worried about Mr Norton, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, the day before the crash as he had been curt over the phone. He had also collided with a stationary car, damaging it.
Coroner Darren Salter said Mr Norton’s judgment was ‘likely impaired’ by the cancer. He recorded a conclusion of ‘ road traffic incident in respect of all three deaths’.