AN INQUEST has been held into the death of a talented rock musician and "amazing" father who died in a crash on the A55 in Flintshire. 

Jon Matthew Kennedy, of Melbourne Road in Buckley, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on the westbound carriageway near Broughton on September 25 of last year. 

At County Hall in Ruthin on Friday, an inquest was held into the 46-year-old's death. 

It heard that Mr Kennedy was driving home from working a night shift at F Lloyd, on Wrexham Industrial Estate, when the incident occurred at around 6.25am. 

David Hodges, a forensic collision investigator at North Wales Police, told the inquest that the white BMW Mr Kennedy was driving came off the road, before colliding with road furniture and then a tree - where the vehicle came to rest. 

Mr Hodges said there was no evidence that any braking took place before the car collided with the three - suggesting Mr Hodges was in some form "incapacitated". 

The inquest heard that Mr Kennedy had worked 72 hours that week - having taken on extra shifts to earn extra money in the run up to Christmas. 

Tim Carter, a work colleague, said that Mr Kennedy was regularly tired at work - and often slept. On the morning of the collision, Mr Kennedy was asleep prior to finishing his shift - and work colleagues had struggled to wake him. Mr Kennedy told Mr Carter how tired he was feeling before clocking off. 

Assistant coroner for North Wales East and Central, said while it was "possible" that Mr Kennedy fell asleep at the wheel prior to the collision - she could not say it was "probable". 

A post-mortem examination revealed that Mr Kennedy had cocaine and cannabis in his system - above the legal driving limit. However, it was unknown how much of a toxic effect this had on Mr Kennedy's cognitive function prior to the collision.

The inquest also heard Mr Kennedy was disqualified from driving at the time of the collision. 

The coroner recorded a conclusion of road traffic collision. 

Mr Kennedy was previously the bass guitarist and a singer in the world-renowned metal band Cradle of Filth for a year between 1994 and 95.

Mr Kennedy - also known as 'Jonny Darko' - was also one of the founders of the black metal band Hecate Enthroned.

He played his first gig in front of 16,000 people in Portugal when he was a teenager. 

His wife, Lynne, described her husband as an "amazing dad" to his three children, and step child. She said he was a "proud Welshman" and her "soul mate". She added that he will be "dearly missed".