Driver had no time to react as tragic Dudley father stepped onto dual carriageway
A father of two was killed when he stepped out in front of a car on a dual carriageway as he walked to work, an inquest heard.
A coroner was told the oncoming driver could never have avoided Christopher Clarke as he walked 'briskly' into Pedmore Road, near Merry Hill. Mr Clarke was killed after being run over just before 7am on April 26 last year.
The 53-year-old HM Revenue and Customs officer was walking to work on a route he had taken for around 13 years when he was hit while crossing the road near its junction with Hurst Lane. At an inquest at Smethwick Council House, his family heard a police report concluded that 'the cause of the collision appears to be pedestrian error'.
Pc Steven Jubb said that there was no way driver Luke Williams could have avoided Mr Clarke, from Lantern Road in Netherton. Investigating officers concluded it would have taken Mr Clarke 1.36 seconds to walk from the central reservation to the point where he was hit, in the outside lane, but for Mr Williams to react and the car to decelerate from 40mph it would have taken between 2.8 and 3.4 seconds.
Pc Jubb said: "That would mean, if the driver perceived the pedestrian as a hazard to him when he started to cross into his lane, the accident was unavoidable."
Mr Williams told the hearing he was driving to work as a welder in his blue Fiat Punto, and was in the outside lane of the road. He first saw Mr Clarke when he was crossing the opposite carriageway before reaching the central reservation. He said: "It wasn't until I was level with him that he stepped out. I didn't see his face for any indication he was looking, or that he was going to step out."
Asked by senior Black Country coroner Robin Balmain if he had any time to do anything before the collision, Mr Williams said: "No, it was just milliseconds."
A passing cyclist, Antony Bate, also gave evidence at the inquest.
He said: "It was very surreal, he just seemed to have waited, and then all of a sudden stepped out when the cars were getting extremely close.
Recording a verdict of death due to a road traffic collision, Mr Balmain said: "It's likely he didn't look before stepping out, and the oncoming driver didn't anticipate the danger."
Mr Clarke's family, including widow Dorretta, daughter Rebecca and son David, have campaigned for a crossing at the scene.
