A coroner has recorded an accidental verdict after coming to the conclusion that a slow puncture was partly to blame for a crash that killed a young Burnham-On-Sea man earlier this year.
Jon Puddy, 20, died in August after colliding with a taxi while driving at around twice the 30mph speed limit on the A38 Huntspill Road towards Highbridge.
An inquest held in Taunton heard that Mr Puddy, who lived in Berrow Road, was driving his brother Jacob from West Huntspill to Highbridge when the accident occurred.
The inquest was told Mr Puddy overtook his friend Liam Knight as they drove along the road and narrowly avoided an oncoming police car on its way to an incident.
Mr Knight said at the inquest that Mr Puddy started to pull away from him at speed before he heard a “massive crash”.
The taxi driver, Darren Haworth, told the inquest he saw Mr Puddy come head-on towards him on his side of the road.
Mr Haworth broke his knee in the collision and Mr Puddy died in hospital two days later from his injuries.
The inquest heard that an investigation found road markings at the scene demonstrated that Mr Puddy would have been travelling at between 50 and 67mph during the seconds leading up to the collision.
It also stated that the pressure of Mr Puddy’s rear offside tyre was “significantly reduced” because of a slow puncture which caused him to lose control.
Pictured above are floral tributes for Jon Puddy at the scene of the accident
