Hidden ice caused fatal accident near Richmond (From Darlington and Stockton Times)

Hidden ice caused fatal accident near Richmond

1:33pm Wednesday 13th March 2013 in News

AN INQUEST today heard how a driver died when an unexpected patch of ice caused his car to skid off the road and hit a tree.

Architect John Sheldrake, 61, from Stockton, was fatally injured when his car came off the B1263 near Richmond, North Yorkshire in December last year (2012).

An inquest held at County Hall in Northallerton today (Wednesday, March 13) heard how on the morning Mr Sheldrake was driving, at 8am on Sunday, December 16, the roads had not been gritted because the weather was not forecast to dip below freezing.

North Yorkshire Police traffic officer, Paul Davenport, said when Mr Sheldrake set out on his journey that morning, the road surfaces would not have looked icy.

But a bend in the road near Plantation House, between Scorton and the A167, was covered in black ice.

Traffic officer Davenport told the inquest the patch was localised and a “one-off”.

He said: “It is clear the road surface at the right hand bend was extremely slippery. It was localised and, as such, would not have been expected by Mr Sheldrake.”

Mr Sheldrake’s car skidded off the road at the bend and collided with a tree. North Yorkshire East Coroner Michael Oakley recorded a verdict of accidental death.

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