Two Died As Speeding Car Flipped Into Canal

Two men drowned when their speeding car crashed through iron railings and plunged into a canal, an inquest has heard.

Adam Clifford and Andrew Sigley died when the yellow Skoda Fabia they were in sank in the Feeder Canal in Bristol, just before 6pm on 24 January.

Avon Coroner's Court heard that Mr Clifford, 31, had more than twice the legal drink-drive limit for alcohol and had traces of cannabis in his system.

The accident happened when the vehicle, travelling at speeds of 60 and 70mph, failed to negotiate a junction and somersaulted into the freezing water.

Assistant coroner Terence Moore reached the conclusion that both men died in a road traffic collision.

He said: "There are three witnesses which see the car travelling down Short Street just before 6pm on that fateful Sunday evening.

"All of them describe the vehicle as being driven in excess of the speed limit, which was 20mph.

"It appears from each one of these witnesses that the vehicle was being driven something around three times the speed limit.

"Upon reaching the junction with Feeder Road, the vehicle does not brake, nor does it deviate significantly in its course or speed.

"As a result, it collides with a set of cast iron railings running along the side of the Feeder Canal.

"The top bar effectively buckles the front pillars of the car, collapsing the roof down and effectively sealing the occupants in the car meaning they were unable to escape from the vehicle.

"The vehicle then flips over the rear and somersaults so it lands on its roof."

A 55-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman were passing at the time of the crash and saw the car enter the canal.

The inquest heard how they jumped in to the water to try to save the men.

Emergency services also attended but Mr Clifford, a fork lift truck driver from Sea Mills in Bristol, was pronounced dead at 7.51pm.

Forty-year-old lorry driver Mr Sigley, of Worle, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, died at 10pm.