A coroner concluded that a bus driver was “overtaking in a manner within the Highway Code” and an 11-year-old boy cycling home died in a collision when they “without warning, veered to the right”, that after the inquest had heard from a witness who suggested the child was startled by the driver beeping his horn which caused them to lose control.

The events leading to Lucas Ashton’s death were the subject of an inquest at Bolton Coroners’ Court last week. The 11-year-old boy was cycling home along Vernon Street in Bolton when he was hit by the driver of a bus on 30 December 2022, the Bolton News reported from the inquest.

CCTV clips were played, one from the bus and another from a care home, footage showing the driver of the bus turn onto Vernon Street where Lucas was riding his bike on the left-hand side of the left-hand lane. As the driver overtook he beeped his horn before Lucas turned right sharply and a collision occurred.

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A senior paramedic with the North West Ambulance Service, who was the first member of the emergency services to arrive at the scene “shortly after 1pm” said she “immediately recognised” that it “would not be possible to save Lucas”, the coroner subsequently confirming the cause of death was a “traumatic head injury suffered in a road traffic collision”.

Coroner Peter Sigee concluded the driver was “overtaking in a manner within the Highway Code” but “Lucas suddenly, and without warning, veered to the right so that a collision occurred”.

However, the events around the collision were subject to conflicting accounts, the inquest hearing from PC Martin Davies, a forensic collision reconstruction officer who investigated the scene and footage, who told the court there was “no evidence to support that it was a loss of control” from Lucas that caused him to turn into the driver’s path.

“In this particular case, I was able to establish that if the bike carried on in a straight line it wouldn’t have happened,” the police officer said. “In regards to why or how Lucas turned the bike, I wasn’t able to establish why. There’s no evidence to support that it was a loss of control. There was no reaction from Lucas and no indication that Lucas had heard the horn before it happened.”

The police officer also claimed the driver’s exact speed “wouldn’t have much of a difference” after establishing that the bus was being driven at a speed between 20 and 24mph along the 20mph route when the collision occurred.

However, one passenger on the bus at the time of the collision, Victoria Lester, who was sitting “right behind the bus doors” reported Lucas’s riding was “absolutely fine” and recalled seeing the 11-year-old “jumping at the sound of the horn” before he “seemed to be losing control”.

Ms Lester reported that the driver was extremely upset following the collision, saying “what the f*** have I done?” before she told him there was “nothing you could have done”.

A second passenger, David Spencer, told the inquest he was “happy with the driver’s skills” and “felt safe as a passenger” as the vehicle was “being very careful driving into Vernon Street”.

A vehicle examiner deemed that the bus was in working order and would have passed an MOT at the time of the collision.

The coroner read a statement from Lucas’s mum, Sarah Heaton, who said “people flocked to” her son and that his sense of humour was “so lovely to be around”.

On 30 December, the family had visited Lucas’s grandad, Lucas travelling by bike and on the way home he had gone ahead.

Coroner Sigee said: “You gave him the keys to the house, said you loved him and went on, expecting to see him at home.

“You said you feel empty, your whole world seems empty, and you tell me about the things you miss. The quietness in the house is the worst, you miss the chaos he brought, and his giggles were missing – he had the best laugh, it was contagious. He’s left a gap in the lives of everyone who loved him.”

The coroner concluded that the collision occurred when Lucas “suddenly, and without warning, veered to the right” and that the driver had been “overtaking in a manner within the Highway Code”.

“I recognise how distressing a situation like this is for everyone involved,” he told the inquest. “While the grief of the family exceeds that of everyone else, I recognise the impact this would have on the bus driver as well. Lucas was unseated from his bicycle and he suffered an unsurvivable injury. Before I close this inquest, may I reiterate my condolences to everyone involved.”