Coroner says no one to blame for death of Broadway soldier Sergeant Andrew Hughes in Cotswold road crash

Sergeant Andrew Hughes of Morris Road, died at the University Hospital Coventry three days after the three vehicle collision on the A44, between Broadway and Moreton in Marsh.

Colleagues from Sgt Hughes' regiment were in attendance at the inquest held at Gloucester Coroners Court on Thursday, (March 2), along with friends and family.

Collision Investigator PC Phil Rees told the inquest that no mechanical defects were found on any of the three vehicles involved in the crash on the morning of October 14 last year.

The road was in a good state of repair and there had been very few collisions on that stretch of road in the past three years, PC Rees said.

The officer said it was at about 6.15am that Sgt Hughes' Citreon C5 gradually drifted across the central white lines as he drove around a bend. This was, he said, most likely due to "either a lapse of concentration or because of a distraction within the vehicle".

A Volkswagen Golf travelling in the other direction could not avoid a collision with Sgt Hughes' car.

A third vehicle, a Peugeot 206, came around the bend and also collided with Sgt Hughes vehicle.

The Senior Gloucestershire Coroner, Katy Skerrett, concluded that no-one could be blamed, saying "this was a tragic accident".

"For reasons unclear, but most probably due to a momentary lapse of concentration, Sgt Hughes' vehicle began to gradually cross the white line on a bend," the coroner said.

"The collision was inevitable.

"Both parties tried to avoid the collision, but it was already too late."

Sgt Hughes suffered severe brain damage and died of his injuries in hospital.

Ms Skerrett concluded that the cause of death was a Road Traffic Collision.