A father of four who died driving a Lamborghini as a birthday treat for his son may have been saved if he had been wearing a seatbelt an inquest has heard.
Graham Padmore, 58, was killed after the £150,000 sports car hired to celebrate his disabled sons 21st birthday crashed after failing to stop at the end of a runway.
The soft top supercar left the runway, crashed through barriers before flipping and ending upside down in a neighbours garden.
Onside PR MD James Fletcher witnessed the incident and dragged Mr Padmore’s son Mark from the vehicle before caring for Mr Padmore until paramedic’s arrived.
An Inquest at Stockport Coroners court heard how Mr Padmore was taken to Wythenshaw Hospital but died four days later. Mark suffered minor injuries.
Accidental
Coroner John Pollard, who recorded a verdict of accidental death due to multiple injuries, said: ‘It’s possible this might not have been a fatal case had Mr Padmore been wearing a seatbelt.’
Mr Padmore’s widow, Georgina, 55, told the inquest: “Graham was a careful and considerate driver who would never have done anything to harm Mark.
“He was very cautious and he always wore his seatbelt. He was insistent that everybody else in the car should wear their seatbelts too.
“All I can think is he thought he was going to get out of the car again before he set off and forgot to put it on.
“He was a family man who loved and lived for his children and would do anything to keep them happy and cared for.”
The inquest at Stockport Coroners’ Court yesterday heard the car reached speeds of up to 110mph but had slowed to about 60mph before the crash.
The Padmore family had hired the Lamborghini for three days from Alpha Drive Ltd and arranged to drive along the runway at the former BAE Systems Woodford Aerodrome.
Onside PR consultant Fletcher co-ordinated the visit on behalf of aerodrome owners Avro Heritage Ltd as a ‘one-off’ birthday treat on June 25.
Mr Fletcher told the inquest: ‘There was no screaming, no braking, nothing – we just didn’t know what had happened. I said he should have been braking at that point. I could tell he wasn’t because the brake lights weren’t on.
Disappeared
“There is a mirage effect on the runway and they kind of just disappeared. There was no screaming, no braking, nothing – we just didn’t know what had happened.”
Fletcher followed the tyre tracks off the runway and down a 20ft embankment, where he saw the car upside-down and Mr Padmore lying on his back, semi-conscious and trying to sit up. He phoned the security hut to get paramedics to the scene.
Fletcher, added: “I was scared the car was going to explode. Mark was held in a cocoon-like state in the passenger seat. I was trying to reassure him as I helped him out.’
PC Mark Dickman, a reconstruction officer, said the car was in good condition and there were no signs of emergency braking on the runway.
He added: ‘In a case like this where the driver is not used to the speed, they don’t know how long it takes to stop. You can become distracted and not realise how much runway is left.’
Mr Fletcher said he had numerous previous requests to use the runway for drives but had always refused.
Mr Pollard acknowledged the car was in good order and praised Mr Fletcher for assisting after the crash.
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