Father and son drowned on test drive after car entered canal in Grimsby, inquest told
David Walsh, 40, and his 16-year-old footballer son Cameron were inside a blue Mercedes GLC 300 which came off the road and hit a telegraph pole before landing on its roof in the water off Tetney Lock Road in Tetney, Grimsby, on 6 January last year.
An inquest at Greater Lincolnshire Coroner's Court heard that fire crews smashed a window in the locked car, but the father and son were in the water for a 'prolonged' period of up to 45 minutes.
A woman who was driving along the road told the inquest she saw the car doing a 'snaking action' and assumed the driver was 'trying to gain control' before the crash.
A statement by Roberta Smith, who made the 999 call, was read to the court in which she said the Mercedes 'flew off the road and into the canal' and it appeared to be 'airborne' before it landed 'roof first' in the water.
Another witness described seeing a blue car being driven 'erratically and at speed'.
The inquest, attended by friends and family of the pair, heard there were no mechanical defects with the car which were likely to have contributed to the crash.
Forensic collision investigator PC Nick Prestwich told the inquest he could not say definitively who was driving the car, but the inquest heard Mr Walsh was the only one insured on the vehicle.
PC Prestwich said: 'The collision occurred partly due to the manner of driving of the vehicle across an undulating road, at which point the vehicle lost control and entered the verge adjacent to the canal.
'It then traversed across the grass verge before striking the telegraph pole, causing the vehicle to rotate. It carried on travelling into the canal.'
Speaking about CCTV footage of the car on Tetney Lock Road, PC Prestwich said: 'You can see that vehicle is swerving around on the road surface.
'It appeared to be travelling reasonably fast – whether that was in excess of the speed limit, I don't know. It's my belief the car was driven too fast for the road conditions.'
The investigator said that if Cameron had been driving, his lack of driving experience would have 'exacerbated' the situation.
Assistant coroner for Greater Lincolnshire Marianne Johnson concluded that on the balance of probabilities, Mr Walsh was driving the car at the time of the collision.
The inquest heard Cameron had messaged a friend on Snapchat with a picture of him inside the car before the friend replied 'Whose whip's that?'
The teenager sent his final message at 1.37pm – one minute before the car is believed to have entered the canal.
He also sent a message to his girlfriend at 1.25pm saying that the car his father hired was 'banging'.
A statement from another friend, whom Cameron was also messaging about the car before the collision, was read to the court. They said: 'I knew his parents were thinking about getting a new car. Cameron was messaging me about how much his dad liked the car they were test driving.'
Cameron and his father were pronounced dead at 2.58pm.
Ms Johnson concluded they had died in a road traffic collision and said she would file a prevention of future deaths report.
The cause of death was recorded as drowning.
The coroner said: 'It would be helpful if, when there is a road traffic collision such as this, that the report from the police goes to the highways department rather than sits for a period of time before it is annually reviewed."
In a family statement, the father and son were described as 'two beautiful people' who were 'full of life'.
The statement said: 'David was the most selfless person to grace the earth, his kindness was unheard of. He embraced his role as a father figure with unmatched warmth.
'Cameron's personality lit up the darkest of rooms. Cameron was a gentle giant. When you were with Cameron you always knew he was there.'
They described Cameron, who played for Grimsby Town Football Club, as a 'powerhouse' on the football field.
In a tribute after his death, Grimsby Town FC said: 'Cameron Walsh was an integral part of the GTFC academy. His passion for the game, coupled with his undeniable talent, made him a much-loved figure among teammates, coaches, and the entire Grimsby Town family.
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