Driver 'devastated' as seizure caused fatal crash
BBCA "devastated" driver involved in a crash which killed a man lost control of his van due to an unknown condition, an inquest heard.
Thomas Norman Hurst, 84 and from Silloth, Cumbria, was driving on the A66 near Keswick when a van travelling in the opposite direction swerved into his lane, killing him and injuring his stepdaughter Susan Davidson.
An inquest heard van driver Carl Davidson - who is no relation to Susan Davidson - could not recall what had happened, but medical tests later showed he had likely suffered a seizure.
Susan Davidson said Hurst, who was the partner of her late mother, was "a kind man who would help anybody quietly".
Following the crash, which happened near Thornthwaite on 1 March 2024, Carl Davidson was charged with causing Hurst's death by careless driving.
The case was later dropped and he was cleared.
'Crash was like explosion'
Dr Nicholas Shaw, assistant coroner for Cumbria, heard Hurst had picked up Susan Davidson from Keswick on the morning of the crash and the pair were headed to Workington for some shopping.
In a statement read out to the court, she said she saw a white van moving steadily across from its side of the road towards them and the driver did not appear to be doing anything to rectify this.
"It was like being in an explosion, everything went white," she said.
"I was aware we'd been involved in a collision and I assumed the white was from the airbag."
She said Hurst had tried to avoid the van and when the car stopped he was unconscious but still breathing.
The inquest heard emergency services performed CPR on him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Carl Davidson, a painter and decorator, was driving his work van to a job just outside of Keswick when the crash happened.
The inquest heard he suffered from asthma, which was under control, but did not know of any conditions that would impair his driving.
Drug and alcohol tests performed by police came back negative.
'No explanation'
Shaw said two experts had reviewed the evidence available and had both concluded on the balance of probabilities, Carl Davidson had suffered a seizure.
"This is not the type that makes you collapse and convulse," Shaw said.
He added it was unlikely the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and there was "nothing amiss" with the van.
In a statement, Carl Davidson said: "I am devastated. I would like to express my sympathy to the family and I hope the passenger is OK.
"I can't explain the crash, I can't remember anything, I don't know how or why it happened."
Shaw concluded Hurst, a former joiner, had died as a result of multiple injuries.
"Despite the paramedics' best efforts, those injuries were not survivable," he said.
Shaw added it had been a "tragedy" and had Carl Davidson simply taken a different route that day, the crash might never have happened.
"These things happen in the country every day without any explanation."
