Young chef from Tarporley killed in car crash two days before birthday

Jul 7 2011 by Ellie Cullen, Chester Chronicle

A GIFTED young chef was killed instantly after his car smashed into a tree just two days before his birthday, an inquest heard.

Matthew Wilson, 21, who worked and lived at The Swan Hotel in Tarporley was found dead at the scene of the crash on the A51 Chester Road near Nantwich at 10.45pm on October 8 last year.

The inquest heard he had negotiated a sharp left-hand bend too quickly causing him to lose control of the black Renault Megane.

It skidded, left the road and smashed through a fence before crashing into the tree.

Witness Clifford Yeates was one of the first on the scene and described seeing the Renault lying in the ditch.

He said: “I stopped my car a few yards further up and went back with a torch as it was pitch black.

“The driver had been pushed off the driver’s side and was lying on the passenger seat.

“Loads more people had arrived on the scene and there were mobile phones going everywhere.

“I didn’t see what had happened, but it must have been just minutes before I arrived.”

Matthew’s mother Deirdre told the inquest she had been with her son just the night before the tragic accident.

“It was only a few days before his birthday, so we were arranging a night out”, she said.

“We’d been talking about where we were going and what we were going to do. He was very excited.”

Matthew, who had passed his driving test less than a year earlier, left the family home in Poynton late that evening, the last time his family would see him alive.

Father Dean paid an emotional tribute to his ‘gifted and intelligent’ son.

He said: “He was a very gifted young man and had a very clever brain on him.

“He realised his real passion in life was food and he was very clever at it.

“He used to cook us lovely Sunday lunches.

“We’ve learnt an awful lot about him since his death, and how well-thought of he was.”

Simon Kalton, who owns The Swan Hotel, also spoke fondly of his employee.

He said: “He was an excellent chef and a reliable and dependable worker.

“He would design new dishes and run up new menus very quickly.

“I always got on very well with him.”

He said Matthew had probably been taking a quick trip to Crewe to buy groceries when the tragedy happened.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Janet Napier said: “This is a terrible tragedy for all his family, friends and colleagues.

“He was a very intelligent young man with a bright future.

“He’d not had tremendous experience with driving and unfortunately went through a bend too fast.”