Young driver died after losing control

UPHOLSTERER Lee Sheridan was killed when he lost control of his car moments after negotiating a bend, an inquest heard.

Lee, aged 21, of Redman Road, High Wycombe, died when his Peugeot 309 was in collision with a Volkswagen Golf on the A4010 at Saunderton, on October 3 last year.

Golf driver Julie Phillips, of Manor Road, Wendover, suffered a broken ankle in the accident. Her boyfriend Mark Hasted, 27, of Stokes Lane, Haddenham, who was a passenger in the car, broke his collarbone.

Julie, who was travelling from High Wycombe, told the inquest about the moments leading up to the crash.

She said: "Mark said something along the lines of 'What the hell.' I then saw two sets of headlamps travelling towards me. The first vehicle was weaving from left to right.

"Suddenly the vehicle came diagonally towards my Golf. This was the last thing I saw as I closed my eyes. I then heard a large bang."

Accident investigator PC Duncan Thurlwell, of Aylesbury Police, said the 'weaving' described by Julie proved Lee's car was out of control. He estimated Lee was travelling at 61mph just before he collided with the Golf.

Bucks coroner Richard Hulett recorded a verdict of accidental death.

He said: "I think factually how Mr Sheridan came to die is plain. There is not any controversy about it. I don't know his precise speed as he entered that bend. It was probably too fast in the circumstances and for whatever reason he began to lose control. Unfortunately there was a vehicle and a large impact. He died as a result of head injuries sustained in that impact."

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