Crayford crash victim was drunk, on drugs and not wearing seatbelt when he smashed into wall (From News Shopper)
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Crayford crash victim was drunk, on drugs and not wearing seatbelt when he smashed into wall
9:24am Monday 17th September 2012 in News By Alan Woods
Lewis Bevan died after his car crashed in Perry Street.
A 23-YEAR-old scaffolder was nearly three times over the drink drive limit when he died after his car smashed into a wall in Crayford.
Lewis Bevan, who lived in Devon Road, South Darenth, also had cocaine and alcohol in his bloodstream and was not wearing a seatbelt when the crash happened on February 24 this year, an inquest heard.
A toxicology report revealed he had 254mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood when the legal drink-driving limit is 80mg.
Emergency services were called to Perry Road at 1am but paramedics pronounced Mr Bevan dead at the scene - the medical cause of death was said to be multiple injuries.
Speaking at Croydon Coroner’s Court on Thursday (September 13), senior collision investigator Sergeant Jonathan Webb said details about how Mr Bevan’s vehicle left the road were sketchy.
He told the inquest: “We don’t know what happened down the road.
“Based on the amount of damage to the driver’s side and the damage to the rear-near-side, we estimate he was travelling at about 40mph.
"The amount of alcohol would have affected his judgment but we would not know how much.”
He added there was no CCTV footage or witnesses to the incident and no mechanical faults to the Ford Focus would have caused it to leave the carriageway, which has a speed limit of 30mph.
Evidence was also heard from Mr Bevan’s childhood friend, Ryan Eldridge, who was the last person to speak to the victim at 12:50am that morning.
Mr Eldridge, who worked with Mr Bevan, said: “He was in a good mood and everything seemed fine with him. He was telling me about a girl he was seeing.
“The telephone conversation ended naturally and we said goodbye to each other.
“I wasn’t aware of anything going on in his life that was causing him concern.” South London Coroner Dr Roy Palmer said: “For whatever reason his vehicle failed to take a gentle bend.
“Whether he suddenly realised he was drifting on to the wrong side of the road or saw a cat or a fox and over-corrected we don’t know.”
A verdict of accidental death was recorded.
