A young man from Pateley Bridge wasn’t wearing a seatbelt when his car left the A59 near Kirk Hammerton and collided with a tree, an inquest has heard.

Thomas Buck, 20, was certified dead just after 11pm on March 3 last year following a collision on the main thoroughfare between York and Harrogate.

His girlfriend Eve Nethercoat, who was a passenger in Mr Buck’s car at the time, suffered serious injuries.

Mr Buck’s inquest, which resumed at Northallerton Coroner’s Court this morning (April 14), heard he died due to an “inappropriate overtaking manoeuvre".

In a written statement read to the court, witness Jonathon Green said he was following a VW Golf on the A59 from York to Harrogate that night.

Mr Green said the VW Golf was driving at a "normal" speed – between 50mph and 60mph – along the road.

However, Mr Green said as he approached Skipbridge Farm, not far from Kirk Hammerton, he “noticed headlights coming behind [him] at a fast pace”.

The car, a Skoda Octavia driven by Mr Buck, “suddenly overtook” both Mr Green and the VW Golf in front of him, despite there being solid white lines on the road indicating vehicles should not overtake.

Mr Green noticed the Skoda’s rear lights “disappear”, before the car “turned sideways and flipped into the bushes”.

“I couldn’t say the Skoda’s speed for sure, but it was approximately 80mph”, Mr Green added.

Mr Green got out of his car and approached the Skoda, which he said was “seriously damaged”.

He could hear a female’s voice from inside the car – Mr Buck’s girlfriend – and told her she had been involved in a collision. 

The incident was reported to emergency services at around 10.35pm. 

Driving home after bowling

Sam Nickson, Mr Buck’s friend, also prepared a statement which was read to the court by senior coroner, Jonathan Heath. 

In it, Mr Nickson said he and his girlfriend had gone bowling at Clifton Moor, York, with Mr Buck and his girlfriend that evening.

Mr Nickson said the group finished bowling and then got some food at a nearby KFC. The two couples parked next to each other with the windows down so they could chat whilst eating.

Both couples then set off home.

As Mr Nickson, who was the driver of the VW Golf in front of Mr Green, was driving along the A59, he noticed a car “overtake [him] and the car behind [him]”.

He believed the car was driving around 80mph-to-90mph, but he couldn’t immediately tell it was Mr Buck.

“I couldn’t understand why the car was overtaking”, Mr Nickson’s statement said.

He added: “The car flipped and ended up on its side… it all happened rather quick.”

Mr Nickson also said Mr Buck was “known for not wearing a seatbelt".

‘I don’t know what came over him’

Mr Buck’s girlfriend, Eve Nethercoat, said in a statement Mr Buck “put his foot down” not long after he began driving them home. 

Ms Nethercoat said she never felt scared in her boyfriend’s car, but she “was that night”.

“I don’t know what came over him”, Ms Nethercoat said, adding she asked her boyfriend to slow down. 

Mr Buck continued along the A59, when Ms Nethercoat soon noticed Mr Nickson’s car ahead:

Ms Nethercoat remembers waking up in the car and reaching for her boyfriend, whom she believed was at that point unconscious.

Emergency services removed Ms Nethercoat from the car and transported her to Leeds General Infirmary for treatment.

She said her boyfriend often didn't wear a seatbelt, despite her telling him he should.

Crash was result of 'inappropriate manoeuvre'

Traffic constable Matthew Tanfield, a North Yorkshire Police officer, said in oral evidence to the court he arrived at the scene just before 1am the following morning. 

He said it was dark at the time, but described the conditions as “dry and fine”.

He said it was his opinion that there was “no evidence” to suggest the road surface could have caused the collision, nor were any mechanical defects found on Mr Buck’s car.

TC Tanfield said on the approach to Skipbridge Farm, Mr Buck “conducted a two-car overtake" just before a "crest in the road"

TC Tanfield believes Mr Buck's car then left the road, went into an embankment and collided with a “substantial tree”.

“This caused a severe intrusion into the driver’s side”, he told the court.

TC Tanfield added CCTV taken from Skipbridge Farm did not capture the collision itself, but the sound of the crash could be heard on the footage around five seconds after Mr Buck's Skoda was seen passing the farm's entrance. 

TC Tanfield said, in his opinion, Mr Buck “was not wearing a seatbelt” based on evidence found at the scene and told the court the road was "not an appropriate place to do an overtake”.

Speed was a factor in the collision, TC Tanfield said, but added there was “no evidence of competitive driving” between Mr Buck and Mr Nickson.

The collision was “a result of an inappropriate manoeuvre”, he said.

Mr Heath said he believed Mr Buck had been driving "in excess" of the 60mph speed limit before his death. He added:

Alcohol was found in Mr Buck’s blood after his death, but it was below the legal drink-drive limit.

His cause of death was attributed to multiple injuries.