Family will never know why grandad died on motorway

Inquest into double fatality is inconclusive

THE grieving families of a Staffordshire Moorlands grandad and a teenager killed in a motorway smash will never know why the crash happened.

Driver David Walton and his workmate, 17-year-old passenger Joshua Hattonemery, were killed when their van collided with an HGV in May, 2019.

Inquests into their deaths heard there was a diversion in place on the A74(M) in Dumfries and Galloway following another fatal collision nine hours earlier which meant only one of the three lanes remained open.

The lane closure had been signposted for 800 yards. But for ‘an unknown reason’ 57-yearold David failed to react to an HGV slowing down in front of him and ploughed into the back of it.

Grandfather-of-six David, from Werrington, was in Scotland to deliver furniture.

Family friend Josh, of Norton, had a part-time job as a driver’s mate and accompanied David.

Student Joshua stayed at David’s home the night before, and they set off at 1.45am on May 5, 2019. The collision happened at 6.10am.

A report from the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit stated: “For an unknown reason, David Walton failed to realise the preceding vehicle was travelling slowly ahead of him and failed to react in any manner, resulting in his van careering into the rear of the HGV.”

The inquest heard David was able to speak to the emergency services when they arrived before suffering a cardiac arrest as they tried to extricate him from the wreckage. Both he and Joshua – a former Co-op Academy Stoke-on-trent pupil – had suffered catastrophic injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.

Tests showed David had not been using his mobile phone at the time.

Assistant coroner Margaret Jones concluded that David and Joshua died as a result of a road traffic collision.

She said: “At 6.10am a collision occurred on the northbound carriageway on a section of the road which had been coned off due to an earlier accident, reducing the carriageway to one lane.

“As Mr Walton negotiated that, for an unknown reason, he failed to react to an HGV ahead of him and collided with it.”