Swansea's Kingsway road 'dangerous', Daniel Foss inquest told

A bus driver whose coach hit a man who later died had many near-misses on the stretch of road, an inquest has heard.

Daniel Foss, 37, of Gower, died on 24 September 2013 after he stepped into the path of a coach on Swansea's Kingsway.

A one-way system was introduced on the road in response to Mr Foss's death and that of Sgt Louise Lucas in March.

Driver Steven Davies told the Swansea hearing: "It's [Kingsway] always been dangerous".

Sgt Patrick Joyce, of South Wales Police's road policing unit, said CCTV footage showed Mr Foss getting off a bus near Craddock Street.

It showed him stepping on to Kingsway, into the path of the coach without looking in the direction of on-coming traffic, Sgt Joyce added.

'Not going fast'

Mr Davies, who was driving the Edwards Coaches bus, operating a service for National Express, said he heard a "loud bang" on impact and saw "a person falling into the road in front of my bus".

He added: "I knew from the damage to my bus... that the person must have been badly injured.

"There isn't a day goes by that I don't remember it."

A statement from bar worker Michael Thomas, who gave Mr Foss first aid after the incident, read: "I heard the coach beep his horn as he approached a pedestrian crossing.

"I think this was an accident and I do not think the coach could have avoided hitting the man. He was not going fast."

A post mortem examination found Mr Foss suffered severe head injuries, which would have resulted in immediate death.

Cannabis was also present in his blood, which may have affected his decision-making, the inquest heard.

Victoria Baker, from South Wales Police, said more than half the incidents on Kingsway between January 2006 to April 2015 were caused by pedestrians not looking properly before crossing.

Sgt Joyce said during his investigation into Mr Foss's death, every Kingsway business owner said they had near-misses whilst crossing the road.

The inquest was told signs advising pedestrians to look both ways before crossing was inadequate and located where pedestrians might not see them.

Forensic examinations on the bus found no mechanical defects and the coach's monitor showed it was not going above the road's 30mph (48km/h) limit.

Continuing.