Grandfather was hit and killed as he crossed road, inquest hears

3:34pm Monday 26th July 2010

By Julia Breen

A GRANDFATHER was hit by a car and killed as he crossed a busy Middlesbrough road, an inquest heard.

Witnesses described seeing a "speeding" Fiat Punto undertake another car before striking Richard Hopkins on Borough Road in October last year.

But police told the inquest in Middlesbrough that after studying CCTV footage, and using scientific techniques to check how fast the 21-year-old Punto driver was travelling, they did not believe he was speeding excessively.

Mr Hopkins, 55, who lived with his mother, was crossing Borough Road, between the Crown and the Shipmate public houses, when the Punto hit him, at about 8.15pm on October 19 last year. He later died in James Cook University hospital due to severe head injuries.

He had parked on the other side of Borough Road and was crossing over to visit his girlfriend, who lived in a flat above a shop.

Witness Derek Hare, of Ingleby Barwick, who picked up his daughter from Teesside University library, minutes before the accident, said: "I was travelling at about 30mph and was in the right-hand lane and remember seeing one parked vehicle to the left ahead.

"I heard a car accelerating to my near side and saw a green Fiat Punto undertaking me, going at 40-50mph.

"The driver cut in front of me as I braked. I believe he was trying to avoid the parked vehicle. I was aware this vehicle was heading for a pedestrian crossing the road.

"He was about halfway across the road. I heard my daughter shout "oh my God" and I noticed the pedestrian saw the car and tried to get out of the way. He was thrown into the air quite high and somersaulted before landing on the road.

Another witness described his parked car "shake" as the Punto passed him, before the collision.

Michael Cochrane, of Ingleby Barwick, said: "I would say as it overtook me it was travelling at 40 mph or more.

"The speed, and the way the Punto was being driven, anything the Punto collided with didnt stand a chance."

However, evidence from the police interview showed that the Punto driver Shabaz Kahn Din had denied driving at more than 30mph. And his brother, Shazad, who was in the car with him, told the inquest that the car had not been driven at excessive speed.

Evidence from the polices collision investigation unit, which studied tyre marks, CCTV, stopping distances and the distance Mr Hopkins had landed from the collision, showed that Mr Kahn Dins speed was estimated to be just over 30mph.

Police also said the fact that it was dark meant the driver was unlikely to have seen Mr Hopkins in time.

Coroner Michael Sheffield recorded a verdict of death as a result of an accident.

Mr Hopkins leaves behind a brother and three sisters, three children and four grandchildren.