Crash which killed teens 'caused by naive driver'

A crash which claimed the lives of three teenagers and left another with life-changing injuries was "caused by the naïve actions of a young, inexperienced, newly-qualified driver", a coroner has concluded.

Jenson Bridges, 17, had passed his driving test the day before his Audi A1 hit a tree on Offoxey Road near Tong in Shropshire in March.

The teenager, from Brewood, Staffordshire, died along with two passengers - 18-year-old Simon Evans from Perton, Staffordshire, and 17-year-old Jacob Holman from Tettenhall, Wolverhampton.

Coroner Heath Westerman said it was "the most tragic of all" inquests he had carried out.

The hearing at Shrewsbury's Guildhall heard that toxicology reports showed no sign Jenson's driving had been impaired, but there was evidence to suggest his driving was "excessively quick".

The inquest also heard that a 20-second Snapchat video was taken by Simon Evans just seconds before the crash.

In the video, the sound of Jenson Bridges wheel-spinning his car was heard as he took off along Offoxey Road.

Later in the video, a voice was heard to say "slow down", followed by the reply "Simon, I know these lanes mate".

There were no witnesses to the crash, but investigators said they believed the driver had over-corrected after going over a dip in the road, causing the car to enter a spin and hit a hedgerow and then the tree.

Investigators said they could find no defects on the Audi or road surface that might have caused the crash and concluded a lack of driving experience and inappropriate speed were the cause.

The occupants of two cars following behind witnessed "a truly horrific sight", the coroner said and they "tried to offer lifesaving interventions to their critically-injured friends".

The coroner said Mr Evans died at the scene, while Mr Bridges and Mr Holman died later in hospital.

Jenson Bridges' family described him as a "remarkable young man who brought immense love and joy into people's lives", who had a "legacy of love and kindness".

He had been a head boy at Birchfield School in Albrighton and they said he had been "full of energy and enthusiasm".

Jacob Holman's mother described her son as "caring and well-loved", someone whose death had left an "irreparable hole in the family".

The family of Simon Evans described their son as "a gentle giant who would do anything for anybody".

They said the thought of their son losing his life at the side of the road was "a haunting image that we will carry every single minute at every single day".

They also said they would join families campaigning to prevent similar tragedies.

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