THE REASON an elderly motorist swerved into the path of an oncoming vehicle remained a mystery after an inquest today (May 17).

Gaynor Kent, who was a passenger in the Citroen C4 being driven by her 89-year-old husband Ron, told the hearing in Ruthin that she remembered them swerving across the road but didn’t know why.

Their car collided with a Mercedes driven by Stephen Wright who also told police that he couldn’t understand why the oncoming Citroen crossed the white line into his lane.

Mr Wright, who was only about 30 yards away when the Citroen crossed the white line, pulled over to his nearside and collided with a wall, and was stationary when the collision occurred.

The Citroen flipped onto its roof and Mr and Mrs Kent were seriously injured. Both were taken to the Royal University of Stoke hospital where Mr Kent sadly died three days later on July 26, 2022.

The collision occurred on the A494 Mold – Ruthin road near Llanbedr DC, a road well-known to both drivers.

The Kents, of Wepre Lane, Connah’s Quay, were on their way to visit their daughter and Mrs Kent said that after their car swerved she remembered hearing a loud noise.

As they lay in the upended car supported by their seatbelts her husband asked “What happened?”, to which she replied: “We’ve been in a very bad crash.”

Mrs Kent said her husband, a retired mechanic, had sustained a heart attack in 2011 and was on medication for blood pressure. He also suffered from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary  Disease (COPD), but was generally fit and energetic.

Following a post-mortem examination his cause of death was given as severe chest injuries, with ischaemic heart disease and COPD as contributory factors.

Forensic collision investigator said no mechanical faults were found on either vehicle and conditions were good, so driver error was the only explanation.

Recording a conclusion of a road traffic collision, Kate Sutherland, assistant coroner for North Wales East and Central, told members of the Kent family: “Sadly, inquests cannot answer every single question as to why a collision occurred and you will perhaps leave without understanding the reasons why it occurred.”