Inquest into death of Kettering man in Earls Barton crash

Lewis Armour, who is from the Kettering area, was struck by a Ford Ranger pick-up truck in the early hours of November 24, 2024.

The pathologist, Dr Biggs, identified injuries in keeping with multiple instances of blunt force trauma, with the most significant to his head.

Fractures to his ribcage were in line with typical injuries sustained during resuscitation, but the court heard that such intervention was ‘likely to be futile’.

A provisional cause of injury was identified as 1A head injury, which the coroner, Anne Pember, accepted.

A toxicology report into Mr Armour’s death showed he had been under influence of cocaine, cannabis and alcohol at the time of his death, 1.44am.

The pathologist said that ‘it is not possible to determine whether it had an effect on the deceased states of mind or cognitive ability.’

PC Jenny Ridgley, of Northamptonshire Police’s forensic collisions unit was in attendance to give evidence at the hearing at the Guildhall.

In her evidence, PC Ridgley noted Armour was wearing dark clothing and was seen in Main Road travelling ‘back and forth’ on foot, as a bright light believed to be his mobile phone was identified using CCTV from nearby garage A.E.S Services.

While the exact speed of the truck is unknown, police were able to confirm it was somewhere between 27mph and 50mph. The brake lights illuminated about two seconds before impact.

Main Road is a prominent route between Northampton and Wellingborough, passing over the northern edge of Earls Barton. Mr Armour was hit by the truck near its junction with Wellingborough Road.

The speed limit at the location of the incident is 40 miles per hour (becoming the national speed limit just metres past the turn opposite A.E.S Services). There are no street lights present in the area which, during the early hours of the morning, was dark, and visibility was being affected by rain at the time.

The driver of the truck, a black Ford Ranger, was Barry Hallett. He held a full licence and was insured, and uninjured.

He was found, however, to have over twice the legal limit of cannabis in his system. While the legal limit of 2 micrograms per litre of blood, Hallett was shown to have 4.3 micrograms.

For this offence, which he pleaded guilty to in February this year, he was disqualified from driving for 15 months, fined £216, costs of £85 and an £86 surcharge.

PC Ridgley said that the effects of cannabis users while driving include, but are not limited to, slow reactions and poor lane keeping ability, poor judgement and spatial awareness.

PC Ridgley said: “It’s unlikely there was sufficient time to react accordingly without a collision occurring.

“I am unable to state the vehicle was travelling in excess of the speed limit at the time of impact.

“I am unable to quantify the effect his drug consumption would have had on his driving performance.”

In a statement read to the court, Mr Hallet said: “At the time of collision I was driving a Ford Ranger pick-up. The collision occurred when driving on A4500 travelling eastbound towards Wellingborough, travelling within the 40mph limit.

“The deceased stepped into the road leaving insufficient time to avoid.

“I tried to speak to the gentleman and check for a pulse.

“I was devastated to learn of his death and extend my condolences to the family.”

Lewis’ family paid tribute to the man they called a ‘mentor, a role model and an inspiration.’

In a statement given to police, they said: “Lewis was a loving father adored by his four beautiful children, who were inspired by him. Lewis will be missed by all our family, friends and those that ever had the pleasure of meeting him.”

Giving her conclusion, which was that of a road traffic collision, Senior Coroner Anne Pember simply said: “I am very sorry for your loss.”