Microsleep caused car and police crash - inquest

Nerys and John Jackson died at the scene of the head-on crash after Mr Jackson suffered a microsleep, the coroner concluded

An inquest into the deaths of a couple killed when their car hit a police car has concluded the accident happened after the driver experienced a microsleep.

John and Nerys Jackson, from Bwlchgwyn, Wrexham, died on the A458 in Morville Heath, Shropshire, on 9 December last year.

Shrewsbury Coroner's Court heard their blue Skoda Octavia veered into the path of the police Ford Transit while Mr Jackson was momentarily asleep.

The coroner returned a verdict of death by road accident and said there was nothing police officer Bethan Davis could have done to prevent it.

The crash happened on the A458 between Much Wenlock and Bridgnorth, Shropshire on 9 December

A microsleep is a very short period of sleep during which the person might nod off or appear awake.

The crash happened after technical support engineer Mr Jackson collected his wife, a teacher, from Brize Norton airbase following a flight from the Ascension Islands.

Dashcam footage showed Mr Jackson’s vehicle failed to negotiate a left hand bend and straddled a white line, the court was told.

The two vehicles collided almost head-on and the inquest heard Mr Jackson seemed to turn the car away just moments beforehand.

Emergency services called to the scene between Much Wenlock and Bridgnorth shortly after 10:15 GMT, found Mr Jackson, 60, unresponsive and he died at 11:03 GMT.

Mrs Jackson, 57, a passenger in the back seat, suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead six minutes later.

The couple’s daughter, Ffion Jackson, travelling in the front passenger seat of the Skoda, suffered serious injuries.

The court heard West Mercia Police driver Ms Davies, who was not responding to an emergency, was seriously injured in the collision.

Ms Davis, who attended court using a wheelchair, stated she had “no memory” of the lead-up to the crash.

'Almighty bang'

Ms Jackson told the court her father had spent the previous day tidying up ahead of welcoming her mother home from working abroad.

She said she fell asleep at about 01:00 GMT and her father might still have been "pottering".

They got up three hours later and left for the airbase, a drive of about three hours.

Ms Jackson said she was "in and out of sleep" on their return and remembered stopping at an M42 service station where her father said he was "fine to carry on".

She awoke after the crash "feeling uncomfortable and confused".

A witness driving behind the Skoda said they "had to swerve" as the Jackson’s car "encroached over the centre line".

They added they believed - mistakenly - the driver was drunk due to "really erratic driving".

Toxicology tests found neither Mr Jackson nor Ms Davis had drugs or alcohol in their systems at the time, the court heard.

The witness overtook the Skoda and, after rounding the corner ahead, heard an "almighty bang".

Another witness behind the Skoda described how it began to "drift" and "crossed the centre line".

They added they saw the car "narrowly missed one vehicle before colliding".

Shrewsbury Coroner's Court heard Mr and Mrs Jackson died due to multiple injuries they suffered in the crash

West Midlands Police investigators found no faults in the vehicles and said it was "highly likely Mr Jackson fell asleep" due to his long journey.

Coroner John Ellery said both Mr and Mrs Jackson died due to multiple traumatic injuries caused by a road traffic collision.

"Circumstantially the most likely explanation action is that Mr Jackson had fallen asleep," he added.

"Mr Jackson drifted across the road into the path of Ms Davies during a moment of microsleep which catastrophically [caused] the death of himself and his wife," Mr Ellery concluded.

The incident was previously referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.