A van driver suffered a traumatic rupture of the heart after becoming distracted and veering across the centre of a busy road in High Wycombe, straight into the path of road tanker carrying a 10-tonne load, an inquest heard this week.

Lugman Mohamed had suffered multiple fractures to his rib cage when he was found slumped over in his white Mercedes van following the fatal crash, which happened in John Hall Way on May 21.

A toxicology examination of his body found no evidence of drugs or alcohol which contributed to the accident and a collision investigator suggested something must have caught the eye of the 49-year-old, causing him to lose control of his van.

It was also revealed that Mr Mohamed, from Booker Place, was not wearing a seat belt and there were no air bags installed in the van.

Dashcam footage from the TGM 290 road tanker, which slowed down and came to a complete stop as its driver realised what was about to happen, showed Mr Mohamed slowly turning out of his lane and failing to slow down or stop before the impact.

Tanker driver John Evans, giving evidence at Beaconsfield Coroner’s Court, said he was turning from Cressex Road onto Holmers Farm Way to join the A4010 towards Slough, when he saw the oncoming white van about 200 metres ahead.

“It started to wander over the central white line. It was gradual at first. I thought the driver was on the phone or that he had dropped something,” he said.

“However the van continued to cross the white line, almost as if it turned into me. I kept watching as it approached me, I thought it would turn back into its own lane.

“When I saw him, I did brake hard but it all happened so fast. I sounded my horn, then the van hit me.

“It was strange, as I couldn't see anyone in the van because of the sunlight on the windscreen. It was like it was driving itself. There was a lot of damage to the front of the cab.

“The windscreen shattered. I think my hand was mid-air when I was hit and my hand hit the ignition key and broke it. I had a gash on my right hand which was bleeding.

“After the accident I just sat there, showered in glass, checking that I was okay. I could see the driver was a dark-skinned man with tight curly hair. A lady tried to do CPR on the man while he was in the vehicle. I just thought, ‘he's gone’.”

Senior coroner Crispin Butler read out evidence from South Central Ambulance service records, which revealed the body of the driver, from Sudan, was trapped in his van for 10 minutes before he was freed by rescuers.

Resuscitation attempts proved impossible, Mr Butler heard, and the medical cause of death was given as traumatic rupture of the heart consistent with a road traffic collision.

A forensic investigator for Thames Valley Police, Andrew Evans, said road conditions at the scene showed nothing which would be a contributory factor.

He said: “Basically, the van driver has come around the bend, no problems at all, and the only thing I can put it down to is something to do with the driver.

“We can rule out fatigue. I have got no evidence of alcohol and drugs. The most likely cause is the driver was distracted or lost concentration for a period of time. I can only speculate that something caught his eye.”

The inquest heard that airbags were not fitted to the vehicle. The driver's seat belt was locked in the stow position and had not been in use at the time of collision.

Mr Butler recorded a conclusion of death as a result of a road traffic collision.