The deaths of three young men in a crash on the A420 were caused by fatigue, an inquest has found.

Lawrence Bruce, 20, Joseph Shape, 18, and Calum Leighton, 18, were in a black Ford Fiesta heading towards Swindon, when the car collided with a coach and a white Alfa Romeo near Faringdon on August 21, 2022.

All three men were pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 10.20am.

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Mr Leighton, the driver of the vehicle, was found to have cocaine, ketamine, and cannabis in his system in a post-mortem toxicology report.

But it was impossible to determine if these substances had impacted his decisions behind the wheel, the inquest heard.

According to witness accounts, the Ford Fiesta the men were travelling in crossed over onto the wrong side of the single lane carriageway.

The car collided with a coach going in the opposite direction towards Oxford, and later made contact with the Alfa Romeo that was travelling behind the Ford Fiesta.

Mr Leighton’s car came off the road and ended up in bushes at the side of the A420.

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PC Naomi Haymes, investigating officer for the collision, said at the inquest: “The physical evidence at the scene demonstrates both drivers tried to avoid the collision.

“There is no evidence that the drivers of the coach and the Alfa Romeo could have reacted differently to avoid the collision.”

On August 21, Mr Bruce, Mr Shape and Mr Leighton were travelling back from a night of partying.

Two other men aged 19 and 21 were also in the Fiesta and were taken to hospital, but later discharged.  

The inquest heard that aside from fatigue and the presence of drugs in the toxicology report, there were no other factors that could have led to the fatal incident.

PC Haymes reported that the road was dry and visibility good.

It was also added that none of the vehicles involved had any issues that would have contributed to the accident and that the Fiesta was not travelling above the speed limit.

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The parents of Mr Leighton, Andy and Ursula, requested that a statement be read out at the inquest on their behalf.

They said: “Everyone who knew Calum knew that he lived for his friends and would not have put anyone in danger.

“Although an adult, he was still trying to navigate the demands of the adult world.

“He probably thought that eating before driving would probably help fatigue rather than exacerbate it.

“We know that Calum would be devastated at what happened and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of his friends.”

The coroner said: "What is very likely given the circumstances is that Callum and the others were fatigued and that is why his vehicle crossed onto the wrong carriageway."

He concluded that the cause of death in all three cases was a road traffic collision.