Girl, 18, killed in head-on crash after her Fiat veered into oncoming traffic
A TEENAGE girl described as “God’s special angel” was killed in a head-on crash after her Fiat 500 was steered into oncoming traffic, a coroner has concluded.
Jayden Ryder, 18, was travelling with her partner, Ryan Wiffen, on February 2 last year when the car she was driving veered into oncoming traffic, colliding with an Audi A3.
A post-mortem found that the teen, of Ferryhill in County Durham, had neither alcohol nor drugs in her system, and that she died as a result of her injuries, reports The Northern Echo.
There was an angry scene at a coroner’s court when Mr Wiffen, 20, was formally released, and an angry member of the dead teen’s family lunged towards him, before being held back by cops.
Ms Ryder was described by her parents in a tribute as a “much-loved daughter and granddaughter who will be sadly missed by everyone.
“Until we see you again, Daddy’s girl, who has turned into God’s special angel.”
The head-on crash occurred on the B6287 Merrington Road, between Ferryhill and Kirk Merrington.
Mr Wiffen, of Spennymoor, initially refused to give evidence on Thursday, the first day of a two-day inquest at Crook Coroner’s Court in Co. Durham.
Assistant Coroner Oliver Longstaff warned him that he could be held in contempt of court if he failed to cooperate during the hearing.
‘FLASHBACK’
In a statement to police, he had said that he’d experienced a flashback of the fatal crash, where a vehicle went onto the wrong side of the road.
But that was disputed by PC Robin Turner, of the Durham Police collision investigation unit, who said the collision could not have taken place anywhere other than on the Audi’s side of the road, and that the Fiat 500 had veered onto the wrong side of the street.
Explaining that both vehicles had been extensively damaged, the Fiat’s windscreen had been knocked completely out of the car, and the roof had crumpled in the impact.
PC Turner said investigations showed that both drivers and passengers were wearing seatbelts, and neither vehicle was exceeding the speed limit.
FIAT ‘VIOLENTLY SWERVED’
He added: “All I can say is that there’s been a steered input, but where it’s come from I can’t say.”
Clarke Ellis, the Audi A3 driver, said the Fiat had “violently swerved” into his vehicle.
In a statement, Mr Ellis said that he was driving home after a meal out, “when this white car came into my lane; it smashed into us and I had no chance to stop.
“It just swerved into us, like the steering wheel had been rove round.
“I looked over and saw [his friend] unconscious. I took my seat belt off and tried to wake him up.
“My window and door were both smashed, so I smashed the window some more and climbed out.”
PC Paul Colman, one of the first cops at the scene, told the court that he was unable to open the Fiat driver’s door.
“BLAGGING MY HEAD”
He added that despite reaching in and trying to open the door from the inside “it was so damaged you could not see where the handle was”.
Although he managed to pull Miss Ryder free from the Fiat, she was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene.
Yesterday, at the second day of the inquest, Mr Wiffen cooperated with Mr Longstaff after seeking legal advice.
He told Crook Coroner’s Court that he had been drinking alcohol at his boss’s home.
Miss Ryder collected him in her car.
Although Mr Wiffen said in a statement to police that they pulled over briefly to talk about ordering a Chinese takeaway, data from a black box showed the Fiat was stopped for nearly 40 minutes.
Mr Wiffen’s mum told police that, during that time, she spoke to Miss Ryder – who had phoned her, asking her to tell her son to pay back money he owed her.
The court also heard messages between Miss Ryder and her mother, where the teen said he was “blagging my head”.
I have done nothing; I don’t think I’m responsible for anything.
Ryan Wiffen, Crook Coroner’s Court
Mr Wiffen told the court they weren’t going to split up that night, and that they were “always winding each other up”.
He told police he had not done anything deliberate or otherwise to result in her death, adding, “I have done nothing; I don’t think I’m responsible for anything.”
Mr Wiffen said he had suffered a blackout and couldn’t remember the moments before the crash, but he also said that he didn’t grab the steering wheel.
The Northern Echo reports that he was convicted for dangerous driving in January this year, and has since lost his licence.
When Mr Wiffen was formally released as a witness at the court, a member of Miss Ryder’s family unsuccessfully lunged towards him – and later apologised to the coroner, saying his emotions had got the better of him.
Mr Longstaff said that as police reports had stopped short of expressing a conclusion as to why Miss Ryder’s car suddenly swerved, all possibilities remained speculative until proven otherwise.
The Assistant Coroner added: “In blunt terms, the Fiat was driven into the Audi.
“Mr Wiffen was an unwilling witness in an obviously hostile environment. He came to court refusing to answer any questions.”
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Mr Longstaff said he did “not find reliable” Mr Wiffen’s account of the crash, adding that it was “not substantiated by the data from the black box, the evidence of mobile phone records or his employer.”
He said Mr Wiffen couldn’t claim he had no memory of the event because of “blackouts” while also saying he didn’t grab the steering wheel.
Mr Longstaff recorded a narrative verdict, saying Miss Ryder died after the Fiat she was driving crossed over the central line of the road, straight into the path of an oncoming Audi A3.
