A CORONER has concluded an 18-year-old died from severe head injuries after he was hit by a car in a country road.

Chayse West was tragically killed in September 2022 when he was making his way home from a 50th birthday party in Colchester.

He was hit by a car as he walked to his family home in Alresford.

At an inquest hearing on Monday, the court heard how John Shepherd was driving towards Colchester in the early hours of Sunday, September 18, 2022, leaving his address at 4.47am.

Saffron Walden Reporter: Collision - the incident took place near Tye Lane on the B1027Collision - the incident took place near Tye Lane on the B1027 (Image: Google Street View)

At around the same time, Mr West was walking home, having got out of a friend’s car in St Andrew’s Avenue.

Mr Shepherd, 37, was driving at 41mph on the B1027 and struck Mr West at 5.06am.

The inquest heard how Mr Shepherd failed to stop after the crash, leaving Mr West lifeless in the road before the teenager was found by off-duty officers three minutes later.

Mr West was taken to Colchester Hospital and then Addenbrookes Hospital, where he sadly died on September 20.

At Essex coroner’s court on Tuesday an inquest was held to establish the sequence of events leading up to Mr West’s death.

The hearing centred on whether Mr West had been walking on the carriageway at the time of the collision and how long Mr Shepherd would have been able to see Mr West beforehand.

The inquest heard how Mr Shepherd, who has subsequently been sentenced for failing to stop and failing to report an accident, had been driving the car using dipped headlights.

Mr Shepherd claimed Mr West “jumped out” at him ten to 15ft away from the car, adding he did not stop because he thought Mr West had hit out at the car.

Saffron Walden Reporter: Hearing - an inquest was held in Chelmsford on MondayHearing - an inquest was held in Chelmsford on Monday (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest)

Martin Haukeland, the West family’s barrister, suggested Mr West “was subject to light and he was there to be seen”.

Forensic collision investigator at Hertfordshire Police PC Paul Andrews disagreed, however, saying the driver would have had only two to four seconds to see Mr West.

Essex Police’s forensic officer PC Jonathan Ward said Mr West would have been “towards the offside of that lane or around the hatchings, but it’s not possible to be precise.”