Husband, 79, died protecting his wife from 4×4 crash
Husband, 79, died protecting his wife from 4×4 that catapulted him 37 feet through the air as they crossed the road, inquest hears
- Alan James had been on an afternoon walk and visited a pub with wife Myrna
- He saw a Hyundai Santa Fe 4×4 coming towards them and pulled wife away
- He suffered multiple injuries and was taken to hospital, where he later died
- The driver, Gerald Hobbs, was cleared of causing death by careless driving
Driver Gerald Hobbs was cleared of causing death by careless driving after a trial at Cardiff Crown Court
A devoted husband died protecting his wife from a 4×4 as they crossed the road, an inquest heard.
Alan James, 79, had been on an afternoon walk and visited a pub with wife Myrna before they headed home.
But their day took a tragic turn when Mr James was hit by a Hyundai Santa Fe 4×4 – and sent flying 37ft through the air.
An inquest heard the loving couple were walking arm in arm on a bridge when they crossed the road.
Mr James spotted a car coming towards them – and pulled his wife out of harm’s way to take the ‘full force.’
In a statement, Mrs James said: ‘I suggested I look left and he look right, we did this and saw no traffic in either direction so we started to cross the road arm in arm.
‘We had almost reached the pavement when Alan said “quick Myrn, there’s a car coming”.
‘I saw a big silver vehicle like a 4×4 for a split second and Alan pulled me round to the right but that’s all I remember.
‘My husband put his arm around me and took the full force.’
Driver Gerald Hobbs was charged with causing death by careless driving after a trial at Cardiff Crown Court.
But he was cleared by a jury over the tragic incident in December 2017.
The inquest heard Mr Hobbs told police he hadn’t seen the couple because of headlights of an oncoming car were dazzling him.
He said he only realised he had hit someone when he heard something bump his car in Cwmbran.
The inquest in Newport, South Wales, heard Mr James was rushed to hospital with multiple injuries.
A post-mortem examination found his medical cause of death was blunt trauma to the spine and pelvis.
Witness Olivia Natale had been driving in the opposite direction in her silver Mini Cooper.
She said: ‘As we were driving up the hill, we noticed a couple about to cross the road. I thought ‘oh my God are they going to cross, have they got a death wish?’ because they didn’t look before crossing.’
An inquest heard the loving couple were walking arm in arm on a bridge(pictured) when they crossed the road
Miss Natale said she saw the silver car ‘come from nowhere.’
She added: ‘The couple did a quick jog, they must have seen the car, and the man put his arm around his wife to make her go quicker but the car hit them and I thought it was going to run them over.’
Gwent Police forensic collision investigator Dean Burnett estimated Mr Hobbs was travelling at around 23mph to 28mph.
He said: ‘Even at low speeds a pedestrian can be caused significant damage when the car is flat fronted.’
Senior coroner Caroline Saunders said the couple had not crossed the road in an ‘appropriately safe manner’
She recorded a conclusion of death by road traffic collision.
She added: ‘This is a very sad case and Mrs James, please accept my sincere condolences for your loss.’
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