Man U-turned on motorway and drove wrong way for five miles before head-on crash

A man drove five miles the wrong way down a motorway before a fatal head-on crash but his reasons ‘will never be known’, a coroner has concluded.

Aidan Walsh had taken cocaine and smoked cannabis before inexplicably carrying out a three-point turn on the M20 and driving into oncoming traffic.

The 28-year-old from Folkestone weaved between vehicles for seven minutes before a devastating collision with a Mercedes Sprinter van left him with ‘unsurvivable’ injuries.

An inquest heard there was no clear explanation for his actions in the moments leading up to the crash, which occurred as both drivers tried to avoid each other at the same time.

The hearing on Wednesday, April 1, was told the labourer had been driving a VW Polo on the London-bound carriageway between Junction 8 for Maidstone and Junction 9 for Ashford shortly before 11.30pm on November 12.

In a statement read to the court, PC Darren Chapman said CCTV showed the car stopping in the road before turning around on the hard shoulder and heading in the wrong direction.

Police received multiple 999 calls at 11.28pm reporting the car travelling the wrong way, with Mr Walsh seen ‘swerving’ between lane one and lane two, although it was unclear whether this was a deliberate attempt to avoid other vehicles.

At about 11.35pm, dashcam footage from the Mercedes Sprinter showed Mr Walsh’s headlights approaching in the distance.

The driver of the van, named only as Mr Neville, was travelling in lane one and attempted to move into lane two to avoid the oncoming car.

At the same time, Mr Walsh made the same manoeuvre and the vehicles collided head-on.

Mr Walsh suffered catastrophic injuries and was taken to King’s College Hospital in London, where he died the following day.

Miraculously, the van driver escaped with minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital.

PC Chapman said it was established Mr Walsh had been to visit a friend in Orpington, where it was later revealed he had smoked cannabis.

Toxicology tests also revealed significant levels of cocaine in his system.

Coroner Ian Potter said the Chatham-born labourer, who worked for Jackson’s Fencing in Ashford and had a history of addiction, had 70 micrograms of cocaine per litre of blood – seven times the legal driving limit.

Police considered whether Mr Walsh had intended to take his own life, but a search of his home found no notes for loved ones.

The coroner also said the distance he had travelled while avoiding traffic suggested he did not intend to crash.

In his conclusion, the investigating officer described the death as a ‘very sad and unusual collision’, adding: ‘It remains unknown why Mr Walsh made a conscious decision to drive in the opposite direction before colliding with an oncoming vehicle.

‘The only person able to answer that question is, very sadly, no longer here.’

Recording a conclusion of road traffic collision, the coroner said: ‘This is a very tragic incident.

‘I can’t begin to imagine the pain, heartbreak and upset this causes to Mr Walsh’s friends and family and those involved.

‘For reasons unknown, we’ll never know exactly why Mr Walsh undertook a three-point turn and began to drive in the incorrect direction.’

He added: ‘Mr Walsh moved from one lane to the middle lane to avoid the collision with the van.

‘It is incredibly unfortunate that he took action at the same time as the van takes action in the same direction, making a collision at speed inevitable.

‘This was nothing but a tragic accident. There was no evidence Mr Walsh intended to end his own life.’

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