Inquest into Nottingham Trent University graduate’s death reveals his car’s brakes failed

An inquest into the death of a Nottingham Trent University graduate who died in a collision revealed his car’s brakes failed.

Wilf Harvey-Davies was 23 when he died after the VW Golf he was driving crashed into a tree on Barnby Road in Newark on 15th July earlier this year.

The inquest concerning this incident took place on Monday 4th November at Nottingham Council House, according to Lincolnshire Live.

During the inquest, it was revealed that Wilf had a mix of drugs and alcohol in his system when the braking system on his car failed, and he crashed.

The man was formerly a Nottingham Trent University student and has been at The Duck pub in the town on 14th July. He left the pub at around 2:50am after waving goodbye to a friend who claimed he was in good spirits when they parted ways at the end of the evening.

The inquest was told that Wilf rang another friend looking for the friend he had just said goodbye to. This friend described him as being inebriated and slurring his words.

The hearing was told that Wilf was seen going back into the pub and telling someone he was looking for his friends. He shortly left, heading in the direction of his flat, which was considered walking distance of the pub.

The friend Wilf had previously called, told the police that he said he was going to come and pick her up. She said she texted back at around 4:02am telling him to go to sleep.

Most Read

From £60k to £1.5million: How much the I’m A Celeb 2024 campmates are being paid

Right, here’s how popstar priest Reverend Richard Coles made his secretly whopping fortune

Tulisa ‘raging’ about I’m A Celeb axe and has wiped all evidence of the show from her Insta

A friend said that if Wilf knew he was to be a designated driver, he would never drink. Despite this, the 23-year-old was in his car at around 3:50am. He then proceeded to drive to his friend’s house down Barnby Road, with his peak speeds reaching 51 mph despite a speed limit of 30 mph on the road.

Wilf hit a tree after losing control on a bend at around 3:57am. This caused significant injuries including a chest injury that broke his ribs and breastbone causing fatal damages to his lungs and heart.

According to the inquest, no one saw the incident happen, meaning the police were not called for over an hour, only hearing about the incident at 5:27 am. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.

It was reported that Wilf was nearly three times over the legal alcohol driving limit. He additionally had cocaine and MDMA in his system at the time of his death.

It was also heard by the inquest that the ABS (anti-lock braking system) in his car was not working, which meant if Wilf had realised he was approaching the bend too fast, the wheels would have locked and he would not have had control over the direction of the vehicle. The hearing was told the tyre tracks on the road showed this was likely what happened.

Forensic collision officer, Sergeant Dave Abbott, gave evidence saying: “The tyre marks were quite dark and led all the way to the vehicle. In modern cars with a functioning ABS, we would usually only see short marks spaced at intervals, indicating that the wheels had unlocked intermittently to allow the car to be steered.”

As a result of this the car would have failed its next MOT, deeming it not road safe.

Concluding, Coroner Nathaniel Hartley gave a short-form conclusion of a road traffic collision.

His ruling was that Wilf’s death was as a result of “1c mixed drug & alcohol toxicity”. He said: “I’m sure Wilf is missed by many people.”

His family previously said: “It has been a complete shock to us as a family, coming to terms with him not being here anymore. If it was not for our faith, it would be unbearable. It has brought us together and the amount of support we have received from family, friends and those who knew him has been amazing.

“We can’t believe one person has touched so many lives at such a young age. Wilf was the type of person that wouldn’t want us to be sad. He would want us to carry on.”

Featured image via Nottinghamshire Police