| javadog |
07-08-2014 05:51 AM |
From a news account, back in 2009:
A property developer died instantly when he lost control of his Porsche and collided with a tree. Robert Walker was killed and wife Penelope, 54, was left seriously injured after the early morning accident on the A29 in Bury Hill, near Arundel. The couple, of The Hollow, West Chiltington, were on their way to Littlehampton when they crashed, an inquest in Chichester was told yesterday. They had just returned from a holiday in Tenerife and Mr Walker had decided to retire. The 61-year-old was at the forefront of major regeneration work in Worthing as head of development at Hanson Capital Management. The firm was behind the Teville Gate development plan to create a leisure park, a shopping centre and housing at the entrance to Worthing town centre. Mr Walker, who was experienced at using high-performace cars, was driving his Porsche 911 Turbo when the accident happened at about 12.15am on February 18. Nigel Page and his wife Karen were driving along the A29 to Bracklesham Bay from their home in Kent and could see a BMW and Mr Walker's Porsche in front of him before the accident. The road became two lanes going up the hill and then Mr Walker started to overtake the BMW.
Mr Page said: “There was a left hand bend up in front. The two vehicles negotiated the left hand bend and I said to my wife 'the Porsche is going to take him'.”
Both cars went out of Mr Page's view but as he rounded the left hand bend he saw the Porsche blocking the northbound lane, with extensive damage to the front, and pointing at a 45-degree angle down the hill. He went to the driver's side and saw that Mr Walker was seriously injured and told his wife to call for help.
Frank Dowsett, the BMW driver, told the court he had seen a red blur and branches in his rear view mirror as he was expecting the Porsche driver to overtake him.
He said: “I instantly knew he had gone off the road.”
Mr Dowsett said he drove off after seeing other people had stopped to help Mr and Mrs Walker. Jeffrey Betts and Glen O'Neil were travelling on the A29 in a Renault van when Mr O'Neil saw the back of the Porsche jerk as it rounded the bend. They stopped when they came upon the crash scene.
PC Simon Rideout, from Sussex Police’s forensic collision investigation unit, said the crash had been caused by Mr Walker losing control of the vehicle. A post mortem examination showed Mr Walker died from severe chest injuries. West Sussex coroner Penelope Schofield recorded a verdict of accidental death. Mrs Walker is still recovering from her injuries.
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