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31
Jan 2023
High speeds and alcohol contributed to young Harrogate man's fatal crash, inquest hears
A young Harrogate man died when his car left the A59 as he drove home after drinking heavily, an inquest has heard.
Samuel Ronald Gibson, known as Sam, was 24 when the fatal collision occurred in the early hours of March 13 last year.
His Peugeot 208 spun off the road, collided with a tree, lifted up and landed in a ditch close near Poppleton at around 3.30am, today's inquest was told by a police investigator.
A toxicology report after his death found he had 201mg of alcohol in his blood, against the legal limit of 80mg.
A statement from his colleague and friend Sophie Rothwell was read at the inquest held at the Coroner's Court in Northallerton this afternoon. She said:
The court heard a statement from Sam's mother, Jennifer Perkins, who said he had "always had a strong work ethic", beginning with a paper round in his teens. He later moved into hospitality, working at Revolucion de Cuba and then Sainsbury's in Harrogate.
The former Rossett School student had been manager at the Cosy Club bar in York for three-and-a-half years before moving to the Ivy in early 2022.
After passing his driving test at 18, Sam lost his licence aged 20 when he was convicted of drink-driving. When he had his licence back, Ms Perkins said he was "always very careful and cautious about not driving when he knew he would be drinking".
However, in the few months prior to his death, she said there had been a couple of occasions when he had driven home after drinking.
Friends also said Sam was known to drive after drinking. Some had tried to hide his car keys to prevent him doing so, and others had stopped socialising with him.
Read more:
- Rossett School pays tribute to ex-student Sam Gibson, 24
- Police plea to call out drink drivers amid increasing Harrogate district incidents
In statements, colleague Sophie Rothwell and her boyfriend Max Bradford said they had been out with Sam in York on the night he died.
They said he had drunk lager, prosecco, wine, beer and spirits between around 8pm on Saturday, March 12 and 1.30am the following day.
Ms Rothwell said:
Sam stayed out after his friends went home, and he went to a nearby food van for something to eat.
Sam's car was discovered in a ditch by the A59 around 7am the next morning.
The inquest heard he had suffered a "catastrophic" brain and spinal cord injury, described by the doctor performing the post-mortem as "an entirely unsurvivable event" which would have killed him almost instantly.
Forensic collision investigator PC Richard Barker said Sam had been wearing a seatbelt but the airbags in the car had not deployed, showing signs that they had previously activated and not been properly repaired.
Although he could not say for certain how fast the car was travelling, PC Barker believed it was in excess of the maximum speed at which the car could navigate the bends of the road.
North Yorkshire coroner Jonathan Leach concluded Sam had died as a result of the collision, saying:
'Devastation'
In their statements, both Ms Rothwell and Mr Bradford described Sam as a reliable friend and a good colleague who was the "life and soul" of both his workplace and any party.
Ms Rothwell added:
Ms Perkins' statement said Sam was a "nice young man" who had looked after her when she lost her sight and had taken gifts to an elderly neighbour who had moved into a care home. She added:
She added:
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