South Leverton Paul was killed in ‘tragic’ accident

Paul Mark Newbert, known as Mark to his friends and family, died on the evening of Wednesday 5th October last year.

An inquest at Nottingham Coroner’s Court on Tuesday 24th April heard how he was killed after the Noble M12 GT car he was driving collided with a Vauxhall Zafira on the A638 just north of Retford, before the junction with Sutton Lane and near to the Trinity Farm.

Mr Newbert, of Church Street in South Leverton collided with the Zafira of 47-year-old self-employed electrician and father-of-three Nicholas Thorpe - who suffered multiple serious injuries to his legs and ribs and now relies on crutches.

Mr Thorpe’s injuries were described as ‘life-changing’.

His witness statement told the court how it was a very dark at the time of the crash when Mr Newbert swerved into him.

“As it came closer, I could see that the car was spinning sideways,” he said.

Mr Thorpe continued: “Now, I cannot bare to put any weight on my right leg. I have been very depressed since the crash and I am very sorry that someone has died.”

“I feel lucky to be alive.”

A Ford Mondeo being driven by Gregory Capsticks with his children as passengers was just behind Mr Thorpe when he collided with debris from the crash, but no one in the car was injured.

A statement from Mr Capsticks read: “There was nothing that the Zafira could have done to avoid hitting the other car - I turned to my son Luke and said ‘this is going to hurt’.”

He added: “I hardly slept and was very upset. I kept thinking about what could have happened - especially to my kids. It could have been me and my family that were injured.”

The inquest heard how toxicology reports showed that Mr Newbert was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Forensic Collision Investigator PC Collin Thorpe said that the gentle curve in the carriageway at the scene of the crash was not a contributory factor, and that there were ‘no problems whatsoever’ with Mr Newbert’s Noble.

“I believe that the loss of control was sudden, and that Mr Newbert tried to correct it through steering alone rather than brake,” said PC Thorpe. “It seems that it was not a deliberate swerve across the carriageway, just a loss of control - as to what caused that initially, we can not be certain.”

He added: “Mr Thorpe and Mr Capsticks did not contribute to this event, other than simply being on the road.”

Coroner Miss Marin Casey recorded a verdict of accidental death before telling the court: “This case is tragic on so very many levels - particularly because the loss of life was of a man of Mark’s young age and because we can’t set out definitively what happened - we shall never know.”

“It’s also tragic for those who also just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

She added: “We cannot know specifically what caused Mark to make that manoeuvre. We are left still in somewhat of a sense of mystery and for his family I am sorry.”

“I would like to most sincerely extend my sympathy to his family, as well as to everyone else who was involved.”