A combination of low tyre tread and heavy rainwater crossing the road caused Wellington businessman Simon Lane to lose control of his car as it aquaplaned across the carriageway and into a lorry, an inquest heard on Monday (June 21).

Mr Lane, 54, a property developer, of The Old Gatehouse, Milverton Road, was driving his Mercedes towards Wellington on the A38 at Whiteball on October 8, 2019, when the collision occurred. He died at the scene, the cause of death being multiple trauma.

Senior coroner Tony Williams was told that the DAF lorry driver, Paul Kitto, had 2.5 seconds to make a choice, braking or steering out of the path of the Mercedes. He veered to his left but the Mercedes kept coming in his direction and the two vehicles collided on the grass verge.

Vehicle examiner Jeffrey French said in a statement that the car’s rear tyre treads were below the legal limit: “It’s the tread that disperses water on the road surface. Lack of tread can cause handling problems or loss of control of a vehicle,” he said.

The accident happened at about 12.50pm on a stretch of road, near the Beambridge Inn, with two lanes going uphill for south-bound traffic and a single, downhill lane for north-bound, in the direction of Wellington.

Read the full report and more in this week’s WWN (June 25).