16-07-2025
Promising footballer, 16, texted girlfriend to say his father had hired a 'banging' Mercedes - moments before they died when it hit telegraph pole and flew into canal
A promising footballer texted his girlfriend to say his father had hired a 'banging' Mercedes moments before they both died when the car they were test-driving struck a telegraph pole and flew into a canal.
Grimsby Town youth team player Cameron Walsh, 16, and his father David, 40, suffered fatal injuries when the car they were travelling in left the road and plunged into a canal.
An inquest into the father and son's deaths heard they were taking the SUV out for a spin on a road which was 'undulated and uneven'.
Now, Marianne Johnson, assistant coroner for Greater Lincolnshire, has called for quicker reviews of serious accidents after hearing evidence that dangerous roads are only reviewed annually.
An inquest heard Cameron and Mr Walsh were travelling in a Mercedes GLC300 on January 6 last year.
The car left Tetney Lock Road in Tetney, East Lindsey, Lincs, and entered a canal.
Despite rescue attempts, the pair were pronounced dead at the scene.
It was reported that Cameron and Mr Walsh had hired the hybrid automatic Mercedes from a dealership and were test driving it.
A police officer, who gave evidence at the inquest, said the road was 'undulated and uneven' and had a speed limit of 60mph.
He said he believed the car was driven too fast for the road conditions, it was reported.
It was heard that the vehicle rotated after hitting the pole and eyewitnesses described seeing it 'airborne' before entering the water.
While it was unclear who was driving the vehicle, the coroner said on the balance of probabilities, it was Mr Walsh.
Coroner Ms Johnson has now issued a warning saying that reviews of dangerous roads are not carried out quickly enough.
She said more motorists are at risk of crashing at sites where they have previously been collisions because the reviews don't happen quickly enough.
In her prevention of future deaths report, Ms Johnson said: 'During the evidence provided by the Highways Department, the Highways Officer reported that road traffic collisions, where there are injuries or fatalities that may have been contributed to by the condition of the highway, are not immediately reported directly to the Highways Department by the Police.
'The Police complete a Stat 19 Form which is then sent to the Lincolnshire Road Safety Partnership.
'The information from the Stat 19 Form is then collated and placed onto the WINGS software programme which is a Council owned software programme.
'This information is reviewed on an annual basis where the types of incidents are considered along with the traffic flow on that road and it gives a score.
'Based on the score there is then a ranking of sites where there has been more than one collision within a set area (known as a Cluster).
'The score is used to decide where the Highways Department should intervene first on looking at potential safety improvements.
'The Accident Investigation Team and the Road Safety Partnership then look at each of those Cluster Sites and investigate those sites.
'Consideration will then be given to what improvements could be made to the highway to reduce the risk of future incidents.
'As these reports are only considered annually there is the possibility that other incidents can occur prior to the annual review that could have been prevented had a report been made to the Highways Department at the time of the incident.'
She addressed the report to Lincolnshire County Council Highways Department and Lincolnshire Police, who have 56 days to respond.
In a statement released earlier this year, Grimsby Town Football Club said: 'Grimsby Town Football Club extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of Cameron and his father David Walsh following the conclusion of the inquest into their tragic passing.
'Cameron was a valued member of our academy, and we remember him not only for his talent on the pitch but for his character, dedication, and the positive impact he had on those around him.
'Their loss is deeply felt by everyone associated with the club.
'We acknowledge the findings of the inquest and remain committed to ensuring the highest levels of care, support, and wellbeing for all players within our academy and wider club community.'
