The inquest into the deaths of three teenagers in a horror crash in North Yorkshire has been adjourned to allow police more time to investigate the circumstances surrounding their last moments.
Aaron Stuart Bell, 18, Louis Peter Banks, 17, and Thomas Nicholas Shevels, 18, were killed on July 29 after the car they were travelling in on the B6268 towards Masham hit a large tree.
All three teenagers were pronounced dead at the scene.
Read more: Devastated community pay tribute to two teenagers killed in B6268 Masham Road crash
In the month since their deaths, tributes have poured in from their communities, friends, and families – who described the three of them as “great kids”.
On Thursday (August 25), hundreds of family and friends of Aaron Bell paid their final farewell to the 18-year-old at an emotional funeral service at St Mary’s in Masham – where those present paid tribute to the “courageous, brave, and kind” man he had become.
This morning (August 26), the inquests of Aaron, Louis and Thomas all began at Northallerton Coroners Court at 9.30am – where brief details were shared about the circumstances surrounding their deaths, alongside their personal details.
In a hearing lasting just a matter of minutes, assistant coroner in Northallerton, Mr John Broadbridge, opened the inquests of each of them with a brief statement, which read: “On July 29, he was a passenger in a vehicle travelling on the B6268 towards Masham, when the vehicle left the road and had a head on impact with a large tree.”
Mr Broadbridge then went on to say that all three teenagers were pronounced dead at 11.38pm on July 29 – and died of head and chest injuries.
However, the assistant coroner highlighted that this was purely provisional evidence at this stage.
Concluding proceedings, Mr Broadbridge called for an immediate adjournment to the inquest until after more investigation work had been carried out by the police.
A future date for a continuation of the inquest hasn’t been set.
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