Cameron Walsh and his dad David were test-driving the blue Mercedes GLC 300, which a witness said landed “roof first” in the canal at Tetney Lock in rural Lincolnshire
A teenager and his dad died after the car they were test-driving flipped upside down into a canal, an inquest heard yesterday.
Cameron Walsh, a 16-year-old prodigy for Grimsby Town, drowned with dad David after the Mercedes hit a pole and plunged into a canal at Tetney Lock in Lincolnshire. Their inquest yesterday heard the car “flew off the road” and flipped upside down into the water.
Firefighters smashed a window to get inside the Mercedes GLC 300, a car David had been test-driving after hiring it from a dealership, but he and his son were pronounced dead at the scene on January 6 last year. The pair had been trapped underwater for a “prolonged” period – up to 45 minutes – according to the inquest held at Greater Lincolnshire Coroner’s Court on Wednesday.
The cause of death was recorded as drowning. Marianne Johnson, assistant coroner for Greater Lincolnshire, said she would file a report to prevent future deaths.
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Just minutes before the horrific crash, it was revealed that Cameron was messaging his friends about the car. The coroner also heard a woman who was driving along the road saw the blue Mercedes GLC 300 doing a “snaking action” and she assumed the driver was “trying to gain control”.
Roberta Smith, who made the 999 call, said in a statement read at the inquest the Mercedes “flew off the road and into the canal”, appearing to be “airborne” before it landed “roof first” in the water. Another witness described seeing a blue car being driven “erratically and at speed”.
Forensic collision investigator PC Nick Prestwich told the court that he cannot say definitively who was driving the car. He said: “The collision occurred partly due to the manner of driving of the vehicle across an undulating road, at which point the vehicle lost control and entered the verge adjacent to the canal.
“It then traversed across the grass verge before striking the telegraph pole, causing the vehicle to rotate. It carried on travelling into the canal.”
Speaking about CCTV footage, PC Prestwich added: “You can see that vehicle is swerving around on the road surface. It appeared to be travelling reasonably fast – whether that was in excess of the speed limit, I don’t know. It’s my belief the car was driven too fast for the road conditions.”
The coroner said it’s most likely that Cameron was driving the car when the crash happened. The teen was messaging his friends on Snapchat about the car – with one message event sent one minute before the car is believed to have entered the canal. The teen also a message to his girlfriend saying that the car his father hired was “banging”.
A statement from another friend of Cameron’s read: “I knew his parents were thinking about getting a new car. Cameron was messaging me about how much his dad liked the car they were test-driving.” Tetney Lock Road was described as a 60mph single track road with “no road marks” and an “uneven” and “undulating” surface.
In a statement read in court, the family said that Cameron and David were “two beautiful people” who were “full of life”. They said: “David was the most selfless person to grace the earth, his kindness was unheard of. He embraced his role as a father figure with unmatched warmth.
“Cameron’s personality lit up the darkest of rooms. Cameron was a gentle giant. When you were with Cameron you always knew he was there.”
