Blind man died after being hit by taxi - inquest

A blind man was killed when he was hit by a taxi as he walked in the middle of the road, an inquest has heard.

Dashcam footage shown at the hearing in Ruthin, Denbighshire, showed Warren Hooper, 50, wearing dark clothing, appeared in the headlights of Tarek Mokhtar’s taxi.

In a statement, Mr Mokhtar said: "There was nothing I could do."

It happened at about 03:00 on November 27, 2022 on Sealand Road, Sealand, Flintshire, as Mr Hooper was heading home to Chester and a coroner recorded a conclusion of death by road traffic collision.

The hearing was told he had taken a taxi to an all-night Texaco garage but because of his behaviour the driver – not Mr Mokhtar – left him there.

He bought some cigarettes and was said to be stumbling and bumping into things.

In the dashcam footage, Mr Hooper was close to the middle of the unlit 50mph road, which he appeared to be crossing.

Forensic collision investigator Meilir Hywel said the dashcam showed Mr Mokhtar driving at a sensible speed and that the cab's halogen headlights had been replaced by LED lights, which would have been brighter.

Mr Hooper suffered multiple injuries.

Some alcohol and traces of cocaine were found his system but pathologist Dr Mohammad Aslam said they would not have contributed to his death.

Coroner John Gittins read a statement from Mr Hooper’s mother, Maureen Hollingsworth, which said he had been registered blind since an accident in which the retina in his right eye was damaged.

He was totally blind in that eye and had limited sight in the other and it was from his right that Mr Mokhtar’s taxi approached.

Brought up in Rhyl, his mum said he enjoyed reading and watching TV quizzes.

An electrical engineer, he worked with his father in Germany for some time but could not work after the accident.

"He fell in with the wrong people," Ms Hollingsworth said.