The 21-year-old had been watching an England game with friends before the tragic collision
Chad Matheson died following a collision in Huddersfield. (Image: West Yorkshire Police)
A 21-year-old man who died in hospital days after his car hit a wall had been drinking and taking cocaine with friends shortly before the crash, an inquest heard.
Chadwick Matheson, from Huddersfield, died at Leeds General Infirmary on July 12 last year following a collision in which his Mercedes hit a wall outside The Sovereign pub in Shepley on Saturday, July 6.
The force of the impact sent stones from the wall into the side of the pub.
The Mercedes hit two parked cars and flipped onto its roof.
At a hearing attended by his friends and family last week at Bradford Coroners’ Court, Chad was described as “loving, caring and honest” lad.
The youngster was found to have cocaine and alcohol in his system, and the hearing heard that he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision.
As reported by Yorkshire Live, Chad and a female friend drove to Dewsbury on the night before the collision to buy four bags of cocaine for £100.
The girl, who chose to remain anonymous, said they “went through all four bags” and she had barely slept.
On the day of the crash, Chad had met up with friends at the Beaumont Arms pub in Kirkheaton where they had drinks and watched an England game.
Chad had then driven two friends to Holmfirth and had “brushed off” concerns that he shouldn’t be driving.
One of the friends said Chad was a “confident” driver who “drives really fast,” adding: “I would not say he was the best driver. He would use his phone while driving and (when) taking cocaine.”
During the journey to Holmfirth, Chad was said to be driving fast on country roads around Castle Hill and one of his passengers had asked him to slow down.
In a statement, this passenger recalled Chad arriving at the Beaumont Arms at around half-time in the England game. “I remember him saying ‘I’m on coke for the rest of the evening’,” they said.
A witness who got into Chad’s car recalled that she had never been in the car with him before.
During the drive to Holmfirth, she said Chad was driving on country roads at “80 to 90 mph” and at one point had skidded.
She recalled Chad saying: “I have never crashed in five years.”
The friends became separated in Holmfirth and one of the friends later noticed that Chad’s car had gone.
Aftermath of crash outside the Sovereign pub, Shepley, on July 6, 2023.(Image: Yorkshire Live)
The inquest heard from witnesses who saw Chad’s Mercedes shortly before it crashed. He was the only person in the car.
One witness said the Mercedes was being driven in a “reckless” manner and “much faster than the speed limit” along Barnsley Road.
Christopher Bell, a forensic collision investigator, said the car’s speedo “froze” at 65mph but it was not possible to calculate its speed other than to say it was going at least 50mph.
Mr Bell said Barnsley Road had ‘Give Way’ signs and 30mph signs just before the junction.
CCTV footage showed the Mercedes had come up from Holmfirth and was heading back in that direction when the crash happened. The CCTV had showed that the Mercedes’ brake lights had been activated shortly before the collision.
The inquest heard that toxicology tests revealed that Chad was twice over the drink drive limit and 15 times over the legal limit for cocaine.
Assistant coroner Ian Pears concluded that Chad had died as a result of a road traffic collision while driving a car more than twice the alcohol limit and 15 times the legal limit for cocaine.
He said the Mercedes had been travelling at speed and Chad had not been wearing a seatbelt.
Mr Pears said Chad had become an organ donor and said he wanted publicly thank the family for this.
In a tribute issued through West Yorkshire Police last year, Chad’s parents, Peter and Melanie, said: “Our Chad had a heart of gold. His family and friends were everything to him. He was so loving, caring, and honest but a little crazy and this made him unique.
“Our family is devastated at his passing; however we remain strong, and his memories are keeping us going.”
