Personal injury news

Teenager dies in tragic road traffic accident

An inquest has heard how a teenager was killed in a horrific road traffic accident less than three weeks after passing his driving test.

Michael Nutkins from Hilton in Cambridgeshire died when his Vauxhall Corsa pulled out in front of a truck on the A1198. He was rushed to hospital after the car accident with severe personal injuries but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Huntingdon Coroner’s Court was told that 17-year-old Michael had dropped a friend off prior to the road traffic accident and was on his way home. He then pulled out of a junction into the path of the DAF tipper lorry, driven by 48-year-old Graham Salmon.

Examination of the wreckage of the Corsa showed that Michael had been in third gear, rather than first, when he emerged from the junction. Police investigators think that he had selected the wrong gear and was unable to get out of the way of the lorry. They also discovered that his car radio had been on full blast.

PC Francis Crawford, investigating the incident, said, “He had only passed his test 20 days earlier and was fairly inexperienced. It is a matter of speculation whether his inexperience may have been a factor in this collision.”

Following his death in the road traffic accident, Jonathan Belbin, Michael’s headteacher, paid tribute to the teenager by saying, “He was universally known, universally popular. ”

Coroner David Morris recorded a verdict of accidental death.