Inquest held into death of Billy McCreadie who died in A69 crash

Billy McCreadie, 41, died following the serious crash, involving his car and a heavy goods vehicle, on August 18 last year on the A69 at Greenhead.

An inquest, held at Northumberland Coroners' Court at County Hall in Morpeth on Monday, heard the father-of-two had split from his wife of five years earlier that year and had been staying between a friend's flat in Cowgate and his sister's home.

Mr McCreadie attended his GP surgery on July 8, 2021, where he presented with "significant symptoms of stress, anxiety, low mood, and poor sleep", the inquest heard.

He said he was having problems looking for permanent housing and was missing his children, the inquest heard.

Mark Dodd, whose flat he had been staying at, said he last spoke to him two days before his death and that he seemed in a "great mood".

He added they had plans to go away that weekend to Knowsley Safari park with their children which he was looking forward to, among other plans.

On the morning of August 18 2021, Mr McCreadie had briefly spoken with his sister and said he was travelling on the A69 to meet a friend for coffee near the M6.

He also had a short phone conversation with a friend, and told her that he had not slept the night before but she said he "seemed his normal self".

The inquest heard Sharon McGuffrick was travelling with her husband and two children behind Mr McCreadie's car, a white Volkswagen Golf, in the moments before his death on a straight single-carriageway stretch of the A69 at Greenhead.

She said that in a "split second", his car "seemed to just slightly move" and went over the middle line, and the "next thing I knew, it hit the lorry".

She said it was not an "erratic move", but more a "tiny movement".

She added that his driving she had seen beforehand had been "completely normal and safe".

HGV driver Bartlomiej Tkaczyk, who works for Harry Lawson, had been travelling from Dundee on the morning of the crash in a green Volvo tanker.

Mr Tkaczyk, who was not injured in the crash, told the inquest he saw the Golf car "gradually" weaving into his lane, so pulled to "the left as much as he could".

He said he then saw the car try to go back into its own westbound lane, before it again went into the eastbound lane and hit his vehicle.

Emergency services were called at 8.20am, and Cumbria Police arrived on the scene at 8.39am and began CPR.

Northumbria Police arrived at 9.24am after being contacted by the Cumbria force. The Great North Air Ambulance Service also attended.

Mr McCreadie was officially declared dead at 8.50am.

The inquest heard there was no evidence he was speeding or had used his mobile phone at the time of the crash. No drugs or alcohol were found in his system.

Sergeant Alan Keenleyside, of Northumbria Police's Forensic Collision Unit, told the inquest an examination carried out of the car, which had extensive damage, indicated that Billy's seat belt was not worn at the time of the crash.

Patholigist Dr Ibrahim Edidi concluded he died of multiple injuries due to the road traffic collision.

Northumberland Coroner Andrew Hetherington said he was "clearly at a difficult time in his life", having split from his wife, and that he "doted on his children".

He added it was "possible that fatigue could have played a part in the collision". But he added that Mr Tkaczyk said he saw the car attempt to go back in its own lane.

Mr Hetherington said there was also no evidence to suggest it was a deliberate act.

He recorded a short-form conclusion of a road-traffic collision and expressed his condolences to Mr McCreadie's family.

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