A rural road in Northern Ireland where two soldiers lost their lives in a traffic accident had a “collision history”, a police officer has told an inquest into their deaths.
Lance Cpl David Gwilt, from Bedford, and Rifleman Dale Harris, from Barnsley, died last August when their car failed to stop at a junction in County Antrim and collided with a tractor.
The 24-year-olds serving with the Rifles regiment had been on their way from army headquarters at Thiepval barracks in Lisburn to a fishing trip when the crash happened.
A third soldier, Rifleman Matthew Robbins, survived the collision on the Ballyconnelly Road outside Cullyback. He told the inquest on Friday that on the day of the fatal accident he and his two friends had gone to buy fishing gear in preparation for day out at two lakes.
Robbins told Belfast coroner’s court that he was in the front passenger seat of the soldier’s car but remembers nothing about the crash.
“The next thing I remember I was in the ambulance and a paramedic was on the phone to my missus,” he said.
Jordan Marks was driving the tractor and trailer along the Ballyconnelly Road at about 8pm when the silver Fiat Punto owned and driven by Gwilt emerged from a junction. “I just got a sight of a car flying out of the junction,” he told the inquest, which was attended by relatives of the soldiers.
The vehicle collided with the front of the tractor and spun around before crashing into a road sign, the court heard.
A sergeant from the Police Service of Northern Ireland told the coroner there had been a “collision history” at the junction and explained there was another side road directly opposite the road on which the soldiers were driving – giving the impression of one continuing road.
“If you weren’t paying close attention you might miss the junction completely,” he said.
The hearing was also told that Transport Northern Ireland has agreed to introduce additional safety measures at the junction – such as rumble strips to give drivers further warning to slow down and high visibility bordering around the stop signs.
Coroner John Leckey said: “I always hope something will arise out of a tragedy that will improve matters and may prevent the occurrence of something similar.”
