Road safety plea after tragic death of Thomas, 21, in crash

A coroner will look into extra safety measures on a stretch of road where a man in his 20s died in a tragic crash.

Thomas Pickering, 21 from Woolverstone, died following a collision on the A137, between Brantham and Tattingstone, on  August 26, 2020. 

In a statement read at the inquest, his father Danny described his son as a "likeable boy with many friends" who had achieved good exam results and had studied art at Suffolk One.  

At the time of his death, Thomas was coming to the end of an apprenticeship and was looking to start university in London to study music. 

On the evening of August 26, he was taking his girlfriend to Manningtree railway station when he was involved in a three-car collision. 

The collision left Thomas trapped in his vehicle, with emergency services struggling to remove him for an hour. 

He was attended to by paramedics but was pronounced dead at the scene. 

A post mortem examination found that Mr Pickering suffered a number of serious injuries in the crash.

The official cause of death was given as massive multiple injuries caused by a road traffic collision.

Richard Godden, a forensic investigator for Suffolk police, told the inquest the likely cause of the collision was Mr Pickering attempting to overtake another car with an insufficient view of the traffic ahead.

His investigation also found that Thomas' car had been travelling at 71mph. The speed limit on the road is 60mph. 

Mr Godden also told the inquest that installing hidden dip sign for the southbound direction could help to improve the safety of the road in the future. 

Assistant coroner Tim Deeming said that he would be looking into what further safety measures could be taken on that stretch of the A137 to prevent further deaths.

He said this could include a hidden dip sign or other measures. 

Mr Deeming concluded that Mr Pickering's death had been as the result of a road traffic collision.