'Let tragedy be a lesson for all'

From the Telegraph & Argus, first published Wednesday 29th Jun 2005.

An unlicensed teenage driver who had failed his test twice died when he misjudged a turn and ploughed into the front of an oncoming lorry.

Mohammed Choudhary, 18, who was not wearing a seatbelt, died when he turned left out of a junction without stopping.

He veered onto the wrong side of the road and into the path of the 40-tonne truck.

The teenager struck the windscreen of his friend's two-door Toyota Corolla, which he was driving, and was trapped between the steering column and his seat. He died at the scene of internal injuries.

Bradford coroner Roger Whittaker told yesterday's inquest that Mr Choudhary's death was "tragic and unnecessary" and he had paid a great price for his irresponsibility.

"Driving in this sort of way almost inevitably leads to tragedies," the coroner said.

The crash, at the junction of Hammerton Street and Bowling Back Lane, Bradford, last December, was seen by Martin West, a company director from Leeds, who was driving behind the Toyota.

He said lorry driver Norman Lynas had no chance of stopping. "I was horrified," Mr West said. "There were two men hanging out of the front window of the car.

"What I saw then I found most distressing - the passengers in the back of the car pushed the seats forward and ran off."

Mr Lynas chased them and brought them back. They told yesterday's hearing they could not remember running away.

Accident investigator PC Leslie Green said driver error was the only reason the car should have gone onto the wrong side of the road.

Mr Whittaker exonerated Mr Lynas, 45, of Ripon, who has been an HGV driver for 20 years.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, the coroner said: "It demonstrates an appalling cavalier disregard for the legalities and expertise necessary for driving a motor vehicle.

"I hope other young men ... will appreciate that this should not happen in the way they conduct vehicles about this city and that it may be a warning."

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