Callow Hill: Fatal crash caused by mother's speeding

Gemma Hobbins, Keegan Fettis and Cody Smith were from the Kidderminster and Stourport area

A crash which killed a four-year-old boy was caused by his mother speeding, an inquest has concluded.

Gemma Hobbins, 32, was behind the wheel when she hit another car on the A456 in Worcestershire. She died along with Keegan Fettis and Cody Smith, 28.

Coroner David Reid said he was satisfied their car had been travelling "substantially in excess" of the speed limit when it crashed near Callow Hill.

Earlier, witnesses said they saw the car being driven "erratically".

Mr Reid concluded the three all died as a result of the collision, which happened on 10 May.

After the inquest, Keegan's stepmother, Kate Laurie, said: "He was a beautiful little boy, always happy.

"He was always excited by everything that was going on, looking forward to starting school in September."

She said the crash had been "devastating for the whole family".

Keegan's aunt, Nikki Faulkner, described him as a "typical boys' boy" who loved Newcastle United.

Following the crash, tributes were left to the two women and the child who were killed

The inquest heard from other motorists who had been driving in convoy with Ms Hobbins on the night of the crash.

One of them, Daniel Buckley, who was travelling behind them, described Ms Hobbins' car overtaking dangerously and driving "too close" to another car in front of them before the crash.

A passenger in another car, who had been passing in the opposite direction and was not identified by the court, described his mum "gasping" when she saw the speed at which the Ford Focus was being driven along the A456.

'Wall of flames'

A statement was also read out from another motorist, Mia Bradbury, who arrived at the scene later and found the Ford Focus and the Audi A7 it had collided with.

She said: "I heard a very loud bang and saw a sudden wall of flames that was easily as tall as the houses.

"When I got there I saw the Audi driver crawling on the floor who said, 'It hit me, it came out of nowhere'.

"The other car was engulfed in flames - we couldn't get near it, we couldn't even tell what type of car it was."

The speed limit was 40mph, and in delivering his verdict, Mr Reid said: "Having heard all the evidence, although I cannot be sure what speed the Ford Focus was being driven at, I'm quite satisfied it was substantially in excess of the speed limit for that road."

He also said it appeared the car had no defects, and it was "very unlikely" there was any explanation apart from excess speed.