England — A fatal collision took place in rural Oxfordshire which claimed the life of minicab driver Khayelihle Gwala. The driver responsible for the crash, Richard Lock, was apparently drunk and high.
At the inquests into the deaths yesterday, Mr. Lock apparently had been drinking steadily at a family member’s wedding in the Bay Tree Hotel in Burford.
Furthermore, Oxford Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Lock also had traces of cocaine in his system.
According to Mr. Lock’s widow, things went sour when the couple had an argument. She assumed the 39-year-old driver just went out for a walk. However, he had instead got into his Volkswagen Tiguan.
Mr. Lock was allegedly driving erratically out of Burford. And for some unknown reason, Mr. Lock decided to turn the car around and head back towards Burford, according to collision investigator David Watson.
Mr. Lock then lost control of the vehicle on a sharp left bend and ended up on the wrong side of the road.
Meanwhile, minicab driver Mr. Gwala had just dropped a passenger in Burford. He was driving back to Stow when Mr. Lock collided against Mr. Gwala’s cab.
The minicab driver would have less than two seconds to react to seeing Mr. Lock heading towards him.
Furthermore, there was no evidence that Mr Lock had been wearing a seatbelt. He died on the scene.
Mr. Gwala died 10 days after the incident due to multiple organ failure, sepsis, and body trauma.
“It must have been a sad day for both these families and I express my condolences for the sad loss of two young lives,” assistant coroner Nicholas Graham said.
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