An 82-year-old man who passed away after his car collided with a coach in Neston told his son less than an hour before his death that he would not complain if the ‘good Lord’ took him because he was so happy.

James Bernard Clarke, of Quarry Road in Neston, sustained fatal injuries in the crash in Chester High Road on February 11 this year.

An inquest into the retired businessman’s death at Chester Magistrates Court on Friday (November 27) heard that he pulled out from Boathouse Lane in his black Jaguar on to Chester High Road and into the path of a coach being driven by Stephen Mount at around 5pm.

Mr Clarke was taken to Arrowe Park Hospital but died at 5.40pm.

Coach driver's evidence

Mr Mount, who works for Moreton-based Cass Coaches, told the inquiry he had been travelling along the dual carriageway in the direction of Heswall, having just dropped off a group of children at a school in Neston.

He said Mr Clarke’s car pulled out in front of him when he was within a few feet of the Boathouse Lane junction.

“Although I braked, I was unable to avoid a collision,” he said.

“It all happened so fast.

“I could not believe it. I still cannot understand why he pulled out.”

Collision investigation

Specialist collision investigator PC Kevin Sweeney said Mr Mount was travelling at exactly the speed limit of 40mph on the immediate approach to the point of impact, according to the coach’s tachograph.

He revealed that the coach was around 30 metres away from the Jaguar when it began to move into his path.

He found Mr Mount’s reaction time was 0.5 of a second.

“Mr Mount reacted promptly by braking and steering but was unable to avoid the collision,” he said.

CCTV footage

During his investigation, PC Sweeney reviewed CCTV footage which showed a white van moving over from the coach’s right to the left and entering Boathouse Lane.

He said the van may or may not have been a distraction for Mr Clarke.

The inquest also heard from Mr Clarke’s son Jon Clarke, who he had spent the afternoon with.

Mr Clarke explained that his father had just purchased a flat in Parkgate so they went to look around it and then for a coffee.

Recalling that afternoon, he said: “He was very happy, very upbeat.

“He had just got engaged so everything was about the future.

“When we were talking he said ‘everything is in a good place’.

“He said if the good Lord took him now, he would not complain.

“Within 20 minutes of that he was dead.”

Mr Clarke said his father, who he described as a ‘very good’ driver, was very familiar with the Boathouse Lane junction and his car, which he had had for the past ten years.

He remembered there was a mist that day.

Condition of vehicles

Maurice Lansom-Jones, a Cheshire Constabulary vehicle examiner, inspected both Mr Clarke’s car and the coach.

He found both would have been in a serviceable condition prior to the crash and neither had any faults of system failures which would have caused the driver to experience a sudden loss of control.

The post-mortem found that Mr Clarke death was caused by a haemorrhage.

'No obvious explanation'

Assistant coroner for Cheshire Alan Moore said: “We have no obvious explanation for why the car emerged into the path of the coach.

“I know from Mr Mount that it was getting towards dusk at the time of the incident.

“Mr Clarke says he remembers a mist and a peculiar light.

“Mr Clarke has either been distracted by something, it is possible that white van caught his attention momentarily, or it could have been a very strange light that meant he could not see terribly clearly what was going on on the road in front of him.

“Either way, it is a terrible tragedy.”

Mr Moore concluded that Mr Clarke died as a result of a road traffic collision.