Published: Saturday, 6th February, 2010 12:00pm

Injured motorist recalls icy M4 crash

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A TRAGEDY of timing caused the death of a motorist who survived one accident on an icy road only to be killed by another car.

An inquest heard David Fuller lost control of his car on the gritted westbound slip road at junction 10 of the M4, on January 6 last year.

His Renault Clio flipped and went down an embankment but he managed to escape and began to climb up the embankment.

Fellow driver Nicholas Tillotson, from Bracknell, stopped to help Mr Fuller but minutes later, at 4.12pm, a second car skidded off the road crashing into both men.

Mr Fuller, 41, of Haddon Drive, Woodley, was knocked half way down the embankment and killed while Mr Tillotson suffered injuries for which he is still receiving treatment.

He attended the inquest at Windsor Guildhall on Thursday last week walking with the aid of crutches and told Berkshire Coroner Peter Bedford that he may still need further operations.

He said: "It was a normal winters day. I exited junction 10 at around 50mph. I noticed something in front of me and I presumed a vehicle had gone over the bank.

"I stopped in the hard shoulder and started to run back to where I had seen the debris. When I got there, there was a car that had obviously gone off the road. I saw somebody coming out of the passenger door who at that time seemed okay. He gestured that he was okay.

Mr Tillotson added: "I then heard something coming from my right. It was obviously a skidding type of sound. A dark coloured car was coming directly towards me and coming at him (Fuller) sideways. Within a split second the car struck him, he had no time to take evasive action."

The driver of the second car, Kennedy Owiti, and his girlfriend Malwina Konopinska told the inquest they were unaware they had hit anything.

Mr Fuller died of cervical spine and brain stem injuries and Mr Bedford, recording an accidental verdict described it as "a tragedy of timing" and said it was fortunate there was only one death.

He said it was more likely that all three cars were not being driven appropriately for the icy conditions on the road that night.