A lorry driver died after he lost control of his vehicle while travelling northbound on the A34, an inquest heard today (March 8).

Garry Chadwick, 56, from Dartford in Kent, was driving a scaffolding truck when the crash occurred at the Milton Interchange near Abingdon on August 30 last year.

His wife, Michelle, has described him as a loving husband, father grandfather, son and brother.

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The medical cause of death was stated as multiple injuries during the inquest.

The inquest heard that at around 8.40am, the lorry drifted towards the near side of the carriageway and Mr Chadwick overcorrected this manoeuvre with a lurch towards the outside lane.

The lorry then made a further steer towards the left, before tipping over and ending up with the lorry cab in a ditch on the side of the A34.

Debris from the collision was left on the carriageway but there were no other vehicles involved, the inquest heard.  

Mr Chadwick was treated for his injuries at the scene but was pronounced dead at around 9.45am.

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Dashcam footage from the vehicle behind the scaffolding lorry and eyewitness accounts collaborated this report.

Collision investigating officer, Olivia Godfrey, told the inquest that there were several possible reasons for the initial loss of control.

She noted a post-mortem toxicology report which showed that Mr Chadwick had cocaine in his system, but concluded that this was only a possible contributory factor.

Investigating officer Godfrey also referenced mobile phone data which showed that Mr Chadwick had sent a text message at 8.36am, but said there was no evidence of mobile phone use at the time of the incident.

In her conclusion, she mentioned that the crash met several of the criteria of a fatigue related collision.

But she noted the way that Mr Chadwick tried to correct the initial swerve to the left is not consistent with a driver being asleep at the wheel.

Coroner Darren Salter said: “What is clear is that the HGV drifted from lane one of the carriageway over onto the near side verge.

“That was due to a loss of attention, leading to a loss of control.

“The question is what is the cause of that inattention.

“There are three possible contributory factors.

 “Fatigue, distraction and there is no evidence that Garry was using his phone, but had been a few moments before.

“The other is intoxication, when one takes into account the effects of a come down from cocaine.”

He gave the conclusion that the death was a result of a road traffic collision.