Family pair died in overcrowded Jeep

A father and daughter from the Black Country were tragically killed on a family holiday in Turkey when they were thrown from a Jeep after it crashed, an inquest heard.

The Jeep, which was designed for five passengers, had 11 people in it and was going too fast when it collided with a trailer carrying bricks, the inquest at Smethwick Council House heard yesterday.

Florist Jonothan Pearce, aged 38, and his eight-year-old daughter Charley of Primrose Hill, Smethwick, were killed in the crash on August 18 2008.

The Pearce family including Jonothan's wife Joanne, his other daughter Georgia and other family members had been enjoying a two-week break in the country when the tragedy happened. On August 18 the family had gone on a Jeep safari to see some of the Turkish landscape around the resort of Dalyan.

Jasmail Dhillon from Middlesex was another passenger in the Jeep and told the inquest she had swapped seats with Mr Pearce just before the crash.

She said she had swapped seats because everyone was throwing water, and firing water pistols and she did not want to get wet.

The inquest heard they were in a convoy of Jeeps, and their Jeep was at the back.

Mrs Dhillon told the inquest that at the time of the crash no water was being thrown.

It was at around 3.30pm when the convoy came upon a broken down tractor which was pulling a trailer of bricks. She said: "The other Jeeps pulled around the tractor, the first three Jeeps pulled around it easily. But our driver didn't seem to see the hazard, and left it to the last minute."

The court heard the driver swerved to miss the trailer but hit it causing both father and daughter to be thrown from the vehicle.

Black Country Coroner Robin Balmain said: "It seems to me this vehicle was being driven too fast in the circumstances without good reason. The driver seemingly failed to overtake a parked vehicle which was clearly visible."

He said that Jonothan and Charley Pearce died as a result of a road traffic collision.