A SAFETY concern regarding the M40 has been raised by another Oxfordshire coroner – a day after one of his colleagues suggested a fog detector should be installed on the motorway.
It followed an inquest yesterday at Oxford Coroner’s Court into the death of Dr James Russell from Coedway, near Shrewsbury, who died after a crash on March 2.
Assistant coroner Jeremy Chipperfield recorded a conclusion of accidental death after hearing the Volvo XC90 being driven by Dr Russell swerved on to the hard shoulder and mounted the barrier before hitting a concrete bridge pillar.
Dr Russell, 74, was declared dead at the scene and his wife Glenys, 73, was seriously injured in the accident on the northbound motorway between the A34 junction 9 and Ardley.
Collision investigator Terry Anderson said the end of the barrier end sloped into the ground, allowing the vehicle to mount it.
Mr Chipperfield said: “I’m going to write a prevention of future deaths letter about the type of barrier that was used. It might not have made any difference in this case, but it may in others.”
The inquest heard that Dr Russell suffered from sleep apnoea and a heart condition, but the coroner was reluctant to implicate either as a possible cause of the accident.
On Tuesday, Oxfordshire Coroner Darren Salter said he would write to Highways England to ask if a fog detector should be installed near Junction 9 following a fatal pile-up in February.
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