Sychdyn man, Noel Garner, died following collision, inquest told

Noel Garner, 74, was hit by a car as he crossed the A5119 in the centre of Sychdyn, near Mold, on November 25, 2021. 

He suffered a major head injury and died on December 13 at the Royal Stoke University Hospital.

In a police interview read at the Ruthin hearing, the driver of the Vauxhall Corsa which hit him, Neville Atkinson, said he was travelling at only 20-25mph towards Northop with his headlights on.

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He said several vehicles had passed him in the opposite direction then Mr Garner suddenly appeared from behind one car and stepped in front of him.

“I don’t know why he didn’t look,” said Mr Atkinson, who had had his eyes tested that same day and had not been given a new prescription.

Mr Garner, a retired plant operator, of Llwyn y Wern, Sychdyn, was going to the nearby Cross Keys Inn when the collision occurred.

Vehicle examiner Gary Roberts told the inquest that “gunge” in the Corsa’s brake fluid cylinder affected the front nearside and rear offside brakes so the vehicle’s braking system was only half as efficient as it should have been.

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“The fluid was contaminated with something but we don’t know what it was,” he said.

Forensic collision investigator Ian Thompson said that Mr Atkinson would have had only 3.1 seconds to stop after Mr Garner had stepped over the white line into his carriageway.

Recording a conclusion of death in a road traffic collision, John Gittins, senior coroner for North Wales East and Central, said he had been informed that no criminal proceedings were being taken against Mr Atkinson.