by Kathryn Boast
17 September 2010
An inquest has described how two people died in a fiery car accident after an overtaking manoeuvre went horribly wrong.
Mark Wallis, of Beeston near Nottingham, was trying to overtake retired police officer Robert French along the A606 near Rutland Water in torrential rain on March 19th this year.
As he pulled out, he collided with a Peugeot 307 driven by Audrey Thorpe, 47, a nurse who worked in a retirement home in Cambridgeshire, who was driving in the opposite direction.
The impact of the head-on collision caused both cars to burst into flames, as Mr French describes:
I just heard a terrific explosion," he said. "My car was buffeted. I noticed a ball of fire in my rear-view mirror and saw flaming debris shooting up into the trees and hedgerows.
"It was extremely traumatic. I've dealt with fatal accidents in my career but I've never witnessed anything like this."
The policeman who investigated the accident expressed his mystification at Mr Wallis’ decision to overtake at that point on the flat, straight road.
"I can offer no explanation why the BMW driver did not see the Peugeot before commencing his overtaking manoeuvre."
Coroner Olivia Davison recorded a verdict of accidental death.