A HEARTBROKEN family may never know what caused their son's car to veer into the path of oncoming traffic, a coroner concluded.

Father-to-be Andrew Conden lost control of his red Citroen C3 which crossed the central reservation on the A66, between Stockton and Darlington, causing a four-car pile up.

After the inquest at Teesside Magistrates Court on Monday, Mr Conden's uncle Robert Meredith described his nephew as "an absolute gem" but said the family were "no further forward" as to what had caused his death.

The Northern Echo: TRAGIC: The crash on the A66 near Long Newton in which Andrew Conden, 32, died

The crash on the A66 near Long Newton in which Andrew Conden, 32, died

He also revealed that the 32-year-old's girlfriend, Jodie, had given birth to their son last week.

"He was a healthy young man driving to work," he added. "There is no concrete evidence to say what happened. We are all completely devastated.”

Mr Conden, of Harrowgate Hill, Darlington, was driving at about 7.40am on March 3 to work at the Bannatyne Group's offices in Darlington from his partner's home in the Stockton area when his car inexplicably veered across the road at Long Newton onto the eastbound carriageway.

Investigating officer PC Rob Turner, said the car was in good working order and Mr Conden's mobile telephone was not in use.

A toxicology report found no drugs or alcohol in his system and he had no mental or physical medical conditions.

PC Turner added that the car's brake light didn't come on and there was no evidence of Mr Conden attempting to brake. The road was damp, but the conditions and visibility were good.

The inquest heard his Citroen hit a Ford Fiesta driven by a young woman and there was a pile-up also involving a Range Rover and Audi A7. The woman in the Fiesta suffered whiplash while the man driving the Range Rover had a knee injury, but no-one else was seriously hurt.

The Great North Air Ambulance (GNAA), based at nearby Durham Tees Valley Airport, attended along with road ambulances and police.

Desperate attempts were made to revive Mr Conden but he was declared dead at the scene at 8.25am by the GNAA doctor, Philip O'Donnell. It's thought he had died at the time of the crash of head and spleen injuries.

A statement from his GP, Dr James Nevison of the Denmark Street surgery in Darlington, revealed Mr Conden had complained of a lack of energy in December but was given a clean bill of health.

One investigating doctor, Mary Shepherd, said Sudden Adult Death (SAD) Syndrome could not be excluded as a possibility.

However, pathologist Dr Kaushik Dasgupta, explained to the coroner that SAD was only used as a cause of death if all other possibilities had been excluded.

In fact it was unclear if Mr Conden had either been distracted, was abnormally tired or had even had a very short 'micro-sleep.'

Assistant coroner Jo Wharton concluded that death was caused by a road traffic accident and added: "Mr Conden was a 32-year-old, clean living and much-loved son, brother and partner

"Evidence does not establish why Andrew veered off the carriageway. SAD can not be excluded but neither can fatigue or distraction."

His parents, Elaine and Gary, have previously paid tribute to their son saying the time of his death was the happiest time of his life as he learned he was to be a dad. They described him as a "genuinely nice man," who was, "a happy and fun person."