Alan Winch, 85, died at the scene after his dark blue Toyota Yaris crashed into a brick garden wall in Whitepit Lane on the afternoon of May 18.

Mr Winch, who lived in the village, in Rushburn, was pronounced dead by Thames Valley Air Ambulance paramedics, who said there were no life-saving opportunities available.

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A post mortem found he had suffered multiple and “substantial” injuries, and indicated there could have been a medical episode prior to the crash that could have caused Mr Winch to lose control of his car.

But the report also said it had not been possible to ascertain whether Mr Winch had suffered a medical episode.

And senior coroner for Buckinghamshire Crispin Butler said while a medical episode was the “most likely of a number of scenarios”, he could not say on the balance of probabilities that it definitely caused the accident.

Robert Gatley, the only eyewitness to the crash, told police he was driving his car down Whitepit Lane and slowed down as he approached parked cars, when he looked into his driver door mirror and saw a car “coming at [him] incredibly quickly from behind”.

He said: “It was the first time I had seen the car. I panicked as I thought he was going to hit me but he swerved around me.”

Mr Gatley said he saw the crash in his peripheral vision, adding: “I heard a loud bang as it collided with the wall.

“I remember stopping a few feet away. A number of other people came over very quickly.

“I was quite shaken up by the incident.”

Peter Williams, a good friend of Mr Winch, said in a police statement he had seen him just hours before he died.

He said: “Alan came to my home at around 12.20pm so I could take his car to go shopping.

“I got back at around 1.30pm and we had a drink together, a beer each.

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“He left at around 3pm to go back home. He was his normal self.”

Mr Williams said Mr Winch had told him he had coughed up blood that morning, adding he and his wife had to push Mr Winch to see a doctor as he was “so laid back”.

He added Mr Winch had a number of health problems but that he could not go into the specifics.

Mr Williams also said Mr Winch was a careful driver and made short, local journeys.

Giving evidence at the inquest, PC David Hannan, a forensic collision investigator for Thames Valley Police, said it was a dry day with good visibility and so road conditions were not a contributing factor in the crash.

He also noted Mr Winch was wearing his seat belt, after an eyewitness who gave him first aid said she had to cut him out of it, and there were no major issues with Mr Winch’s car that could have contributed to the accident.

PC Hannan said there was evidence Mr Winch had not applied his brakes before he crashed into the brick wall, adding that the impact of the crash indicated he could have been travelling at a speed of between 30-40mph as he was coming down the hill on Whitepit Lane.

CCTV footage from a house on Old Station Road showed his brake lights did not come on as his car headed towards the wall.

Mr Butler recorded a conclusion of a road traffic collision, adding that Mr Winch sadly died as a direct result of the “substantial and multiple” injuries he suffered in the crash.