Devon man, 23, killed in A30 lorry crash was jogging home from darts event

A young Devon man was seen jogging along the A30 towards towards Honiton moments before he was killed in a collision with a Royal Mail lorry, an inquest has been told.

Hamish Culling, 23, became separated from his friends after going to watch a darts event at the Westpoint arena.

In the early hours of March 6 he was seen by several motorists in the nearside eastbound carriageway heading towards his home town.

The driver of a Royal Mail lorry was about to turn into the exit slip road towards Exeter Airport when he struck the pedestrian. An inquest into Mr Culling’s death was told the driver did not see him before the collision and had no chance to avoid the tragic event.

There was no street lighting, it was dark and Mr Culling was wearing a navy blue dress. He and his friends had gone to the darts event wearing fancy dress and had been drinking since the afternoon.

The inquest heard that Mr Culling, who was single and an office worker, started drinking lager at his house with friends in the afternoon.

The group had agreed to wear fancy dress on the theme of ‘heads of state’. In a statement, Mr Culling’s friend, Finn Parratt, said Hamish had dressed as the Queen and was wearing a dark coloured dress and pearl-type necklace. Others in the group had dressed as Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Kim Jong-Un.

They had each drunk at least 10 bottles before heading first to the pub and then to Westpoint, where they drunk a further five or so beers.

Mr Culling went outside to get some air at about 8pm but doormen refused to let him back in after a minor argument. Mr Parratt and another friend were allowed back in.

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“We said our goodbyes and he walked off in the direction of the bus,” said Mr Parratt.

It was only later that he heard Mr Culling had not made it home. His bag, containing his phone and wallet had been left inside Westpoint.

At about 1am Mr Culling was seen in the Subway restaurant on Honiton Road by two off-duty police officers. They noticed he wasn’t wearing any shoes and asked if he was okay. They arranged for a taxi to pick him up in ten minutes, before leaving.

PC Emma Whittell said: “He did not come across as drunk or incapable. He was not slurring his words or stumbling.” The officers left with no concerns for his welfare, reminding him to be courteous to the taxi driver when he arrived. He appeared grateful for the help.

At about 1.20am Mr Culling was seen by a member of the public walking purposefully down Honiton Road in the direction of the A30. He appeared determined to get somewhere.

A few minutes later, Frank Priddis, a bus driver on his way to Cranbrook on a well-lit section at the start of the A30, had to swerve out of the way to avoid a man jogging in the road. He said he would have hit him had he not seen him in time. An ambulance crew on their way to an emergency also saw Mr Culling.

Paramedic Phillip Johnson said: “I saw a dark figure on the nearside of the road. The person was running in the middle of the nearside lane. I thought it was odd and foolish as there is a pavement. He appeared to be about to continue towards Honiton.”

The ambulance stopped and asked Mr Culling if he was okay and told him it was dangerous to be running in the road. Mr Culling replied: ‘Give me a lift then’. When told they were on their way to an emergency he said ‘Why did you pull over?’ before turning his back and jogging away.

The crew alerted police to a man on the road, as did a taxi driver who was startled to see a man jogging in the nearside lane a few moments later.

The fatal collision happened at about 2am on a section of the road that had no street lights.

Martin Rennie, an experienced Royal Mail driver, was about to turn off the A30 towards the airport when he heard a ‘loud thud’. He thought immediately he had hit a pedestrian, though he had seen no one. He instinctively applied the break to the Large Goods Vehicle and went to check. He found Mr Culling in the road and called 999.

Paramedics arrived soon after and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

“I have gone over it many times in my mind and I don’t know what else I could have done which could have avoided this very sad loss of life,” said the driver.

Driving conditions and the weather were fine when the collision happened. Traffic on the 70mph limit dual carriageway was light. The LGV had a speed limiter set at 56mph. The driver had been decelerating in preparation for the turn-off and was travelling at 53mph when the front near side collided with the pedestrian.

A forensic collision investigation found no fault with the vehicle and, all factors considered, there was no time for the driver to take evasive action.

A post-mortem examination found Mr Culling died of multiple fractures to the head consistent with a vehicle impact. He was more than two times over the drink drive limit and his spacial awareness would have been impaired. Alcohol intoxication was a contributory factor in his death.

Philip Spinney, senior coroner for Exeter and Greater Devon, recorded Hamish Culling died as a result of a road traffic collision.

His family, who were not present at the inquest, have said previously: “It is a huge loss from which his family will never recover.

“He was known to lots of people and it is to the people who knew him well and loved him that the family ask to treasure him. Remembering all the precious memories that they have in their own way.”

His friend Finn Parratt said in his statement: “He was a great friend to me and the rest of the group. I can’t believe he’s gone or we’ll never see him again.”