He couldn't live with death crash memory

A MAN haunted by a horrific road accident in which two people were killed and another badly injured hanged himself a year-and-a-half later.

An inquest in heard yesterday that lorry driver Robin Rose, of High Street, Debenham, who was aged 60 at the time of his death in March, was in his cab in a layby on the A14 at Bury when the accident happened in October 2000.

A car containing the three was in a collision with his lorry.

Although blameless, the inquest heard that Mr Rose, who ran family haulage and coal merchants business Rose Brothers of Wetheringsett with his brother and sister, could not get over what happened and was severely depressed.

He split up with his wife, and also took to drinking heavily, losing his licence in June for drink driving offences.

"He had spoken about taking his own life, but I never really thought he would do that," his brother, Gerald, told the inquest.

When he last saw him he seemed "his usual self", he said.

But two days later, he discovered his body after he visited his house when he failed to turn up to work at 6.30am.

A post mortem revealed that he died from hanging, although there were superficial, apparently self-inflicted, wounds to his chest and wrists.

Coroner George Leguen de la Croix, concluded that he had taken his own life while severely depressed.

After the inquest, Anne Arnold and Gerald Rose paid tribute to their brother, who had worked on a farm for six or seven years after leaving Wetheringsett School, then joined the family business.

"It's just a very sad story, because he was a wonderful person," she said.

Mr Rose, who had two children and four grandchildren, was affected "very badly" by the accident, his brother said.

"When Robin got out of the cab there were these two bodies laid out in the road," he said. "Ever since then he had never been the same. He just could not get over it."