Derry Hill: Four young men died when drunk driver crashed into house

Three young men died when the driver of their car lost control while drunk and crashed into a house, a coroner ruled.

Matthew Parke, Corey Owen and Ryan Nelson were in the car, driven by Jordan Rawlings who also died, which crashed on the A4 in Wiltshire in August 2020.

The inquest for the passengers heard Jordan was driving at more than 100mph.

But Wiltshire area coroner Ian Singleton stopped short of ruling the three men had been unlawfully killed.

Witnesses told the inquest that they tried to help the men, who were calling for help, but the fire was too intense.

Other witnesses suggested Mr Rawlings had drunk four beers in the hours leading up to the crash.

Mr Singleton said Mr Rawlings - whose inquest will take place separately - was "under the influence of alcohol" and travelling at a speed that was not only over the limit but "inappropriate for the conditions" in the early hours of 16 August.

He said the VW Polo containing the four young men, all from Calne, left the A4 at a corner in Derry Hill and hit a house before coming to rest on its side and catching fire.

Wiltshire Police crash investigator Steven Fair said he estimated the car was travelling at between 117 to 122mph just before the crash. The speed limit on that stretch of the A4 is 40mph.

Mr Fair said the road was "wet and greasy" as it had just been raining.

A crash was "inevitable" for any driver going in excess of 100mph, Mr Fair added, who also said CCTV from a nearby pub showed Jordan had not braked just before the crash.

Margaret Connolly, whose house the car crashed into, said a "loud explosion" had woken her and husband Peter up.

They looked out of the window and saw the car on fire. While the police were called a lorry driver, Darren Hyde, had also stopped to help.

Mrs Connolly said the fire was "intense" but her husband heard voices shouting for help from within the car.

Mr Hyde ushered them away as he was scared the petrol tank might explode, she said.

Kirsty Archer, who was staying with the Connollys, said she begged the police to come quickly as the young men were "dying in the car".

The fire was very large and the witnesses "couldn't get near it" she said.

Mr Hyde, a former firefighter, said although he could hear the men in the car shouting for help he "knew it was too late".

Mr Singleton said Matthew, 19, who was a passenger in the back, died as a result of the fire, while his fellow back seat passenger Corey, 19, died due to a head injury.

Ryan, 20, who was in the front passenger seat, also died because of the fire.

Before recording each man's cause of death, Mr Singleton said he had not found enough evidence for a verdict of unlawful killing.

He said for that verdict to be reached, the driving had to be "truly exceptionally bad".

"Yes there was a duty of care owed by the driver to the passengers, and there was a breach of that duty, yes the risk of death was a reasonably foreseeable consequence, and did the breach in the duty of care result in the deaths? Yes," he said.

"But did the driving meet the test of the conduct of the driver being truly exceptionally bad? No."

Speaking after the inquest, Corey's mother said her son was "a beautiful person inside and out".

"Corey was an utterly reliable young man with a strong moral compass who was mature beyond his years. He had a wide circle of close friends and was totally smitten with his girlfriend. He was loved by all."

She said that in the year prior to his death, Corey had applied to go to university in Bristol and was "flourishing in everything he did".

Matthew's family said his death had "shattered" their lives.

"Our beautiful boy Mattie was our life, our world, our everything," they said. "He was happy, popular, confident, funny, clever and hard-working.

"He was so looking forward to returning to university last September. He had so many plans, dreams and ambitions for the future."

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