Doncaster man lost control of Ferrari and hit tree - coroner

Oliver Rose was driving a Ferrari F8 Tributo, similar to the one pictured above, when he crashed in March 2023

An insurance director died after losing control of his Ferrari while overtaking, a coroner has ruled.

Oliver Rose, 37, died when his red Ferrari F8 Tributo crashed into a tree off the A630 in Armthorpe, Doncaster, on 5 March 2023.

An inquest at Doncaster Coroners Court on Wednesday heard Mr Rose had driven at speeds of up to 105mph (169km/h).

Paying tribute, his family described him as a "beloved son, brother, uncle and colleague who is sorely missed".

During the hearing, area coroner Louise Slater was told Mr Rose had experience with driving high-performance vehicles and had taken part in track days.

On the day of the collision, he left his home address in Doncaster and headed towards JD Gym in Ogden Road.

A global tracker fitted on his car recorded speeds of up to 50mph (80km/h) miles in some of the residential streets which had speed limits between 30 and 40mph (48 to 64km/h).

'Race mode'

Forensic collisions investigator Joanne Edwards said the tracker had recorded speeds in 15-second intervals.

She said it showed that while travelling along the A630 Westmoor Link, Mr Rose's car reached speeds of up to 105mph but slowed back down to around 55mph to match the speed of vehicles around him.

Ms Edwards said she was not able to ascertain which speed the car was travelling at shortly before the collision but found Mr Rose's car had been in race mode when he again attempted to overtake a vehicle.

She said having spoken to Ferrari, this was not a setting recommended for use on public highways but rather designed for track days.

She told the coroner: "I believe what happened is that as Ollie has accelerated to overtake vehicles in front of him, it is likely that the rear wheels have spun and lost their grip just because of the power the Ferrari has and that would've caused the rear of the vehicle to swing out."

She said there would not have been any time to react or brake.

There had been no evidence to suggest Mr Rose had been on his phone and toxicology reports showed he had no alcohol or drugs in his system.

'Bright, quick witted and fun loving'

The medical cause of death was given as multiple injuries sustained in a road traffic collision.

Ms Slater said she accepted Mr Rose had been experienced in driving high-performance vehicles but that it was more likely than not that the collision happened due to his "harsh" acceleration.

"I am satisfied that he was attempting an overtaking manoeuvre when he lost control of his vehicle," she said.

Mr Rose, who was born in Sheffield and had worked at One Call Insurance for most of his life, was described as "bright, quick witted and fun loving".

In a statement read out in court, his brother Ryan said: "He was a people's person, with a good network around him.

"He was a beloved son, brother, uncle and colleague who is sorely missed."