Darren Richard Trewin · Prevention of Future Deaths report

On the 9th February 2017 I commenced an investigation into the death of Darren Richard Trewin, age 49 years. The investigation concluded at the end of the Inquest on the 25th April 2018, the conclusion of the Inquest was Mr Trewin died as a result of a Road Traffic Collision contributed to by water flowing across the A30 carriageway from a blocked drain on the central reservation. The Pathologist gave the medical cause of death as “1(a) Head Injuries with Airway Compromise”.

On the 31st January 2017 Mr Trewin was driving a Mercedes SLK motor vehicle belonging to his partner, ████████ who was his passenger. He was driving along the A30 Southbound when approximately ¼ mile west of Sourton Cross near Okehampton, Devon. The car ran into a stream of water running from right to left across the carriageway from a partially blocked drain on the central reservation. This initial loss of traction, together with driver input to control the car resulted in the car leaving the carriageway at a point when it collided with the concrete anchor that the start of a barrier on the nearside of lane one, resulting in the car turning over landing upside down in woodland where the branch of a tree entered the cabin causing fatal injuries to Mr Trewin.

(1) The drain in the central reservation was partially blocked with detritus washed from the road. The drain therefore could not take all the water from the heavy rain showers resulting in the water cascading across the carriageway contributing to the collision. Highways engineers who attended the Inquest were of the view that the grating on the drain should be changed to capture more water and the drains inspected more frequently and an additional drain, located above the drain that blocked should be created to assist with the capture of excess water from heavy rain.

(2) To consider extending the barrier on the nearside of the carriageway to a point before the point of impact would possibly have prevented Mr Trewin’s car from leaving the carriageway and entering the woods. A longer barrier at this point, where the ground drops away to a much lower level below the carriageway, could improve safety for all drivers using the A30 at this point.