Darlington car crash victim Darren Bennett laid undiscovered for days - police defend work to find him

The accident took place on the roundabout above the A1(M) motorway on the outskirts of Darlington and in the days that followed hundreds of motorists passed the spot, which is shielded from view by trees and dense foliage, oblivious to the tragic accident.

• Police conducted "extensive inquiries"

Darren Bennett

Despite the use of the police helicopter and attempts to trace Mr Bennett's car using number plate recognition cameras the accident was not discovered until Saturday when a passing motorists reported their suspicions.

The body of the newly-wed father, originally from Darlington but who had moved to Newton Aycliffe, was found in his car when police searched the roundabout.

On Monday night, Durham Constabulary released details of the search for the 28-year-old in the days after he was reported missing by his worried family.

Mr Bennett was reported missing on Tuesday, August 30, but had not been seen since leaving a barbecue in Darlington on Saturday, August 27, prompting family, friends and police to make public appeals.

Their search ended tragically when Mr Bennett was found dead at the Burtree roundabout above the A1 motorway on the outskirts of Darlington.

Flowers left at the scene of a fatal car crash at junction 58 of the A1(M) in County Durham. Picture: TOM BANKS

It is thought he was driving from Burtree Gate on the A68 when he failed to negotiate the roundabout and drove through a chevron board before colliding with trees, his car coming to rest in dense undergrowth, well hidden from passing traffic.

Durham Constabulary’s log of action in relation to the search shows that a police helicopter was deployed and flew over several routes – including the area of the roundabout - but failed to spot the vehicle.

The force revealed how 266 separate actions had been recorded on the incident log created by Durham Constabulary following initial reports of Mr Bennett’s disappearance.

The actions taken included:

• Checking financial records;

• Checking Mr Bennett’s social media accounts and posting an appeal on Newton Aycliffe Police’s Facebook page;

• Leaving messages for Mr Bennett via email and mobile phone;

• Contacting, and in many cases, taking statements from those at the barbecue, family, friends and his employer;

• Circulating details of his vehicle to track any ‘hits’ on Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras – of which there were none after lunchtime on Saturday, August 27;

• Carrying out searches on streets, lay-bys and car parks in Darlington;

• House-to-house and CCTV enquiries in Thompson Street West, where the barbecue was held;

• Enquiries made with a number of premises in relation to potential CCTV footage.

The incident log was reviewed by an inspector on a number of occasions to see if anything further could be done.

Since news of Mr Bennett’s death became public, witnesses have contacted police to say they had noticed damage to roadside furniture but had not reported it to the authorities, presuming it had already been reported.

A spokesman for the force said the damage was not unusual and would not necessarily have prompted further investigation.

He added: “The skidmarks on the road would also not have been obvious unless you were actively looking for evidence of a crash.”

Mr Bennett has not yet been formally identified but Durham Constabulary have appointed a specially-trained liaison officer to work with and support his family.

Investigating officer Sgt Andy Sutherland confirmed that the car found at the roundabout did belong to Mr Bennett and had not been reported stolen.

He added: “We understand Darren was last seen on the night of Saturday, August 27 at a party in the Darlington area.

“However, he was not formally reported missing to police until Tuesday, August 30. Since then, extensive enquiries have been carried out to find Darren but there has never been any intelligence to suggest a possible location for his car or a route it could have taken.

“We are pursuing various lines of enquiry to establish when the crash took place and would be keen to hear from anyone who might have seen the Megane on the roads at any time since the weekend of August 27.”

• Anyone with information is asked to contact the collision investigation unit on 0191-3751259.