A young farmer who went missing after a serious crash on the A30 last year took his own life "in a panic", an inquest heard. Jack Henry William Thomas, 21, vanished from the scene of an early morning crash in June and was found dead the next day.
Jack, from Sennen, was reported missing at the time with his last known location being near Chiverton Cross Roundabout at around 3am on Sunday, June 11. Devon and Cornwall Police thought that Jack had been in a vehicle involved in a serious collision at the time.
The police expressed concern that he might have suffered a serious injury and could need medical help. Sadly, his body was found in the area the next day after extensive searches and heartfelt pleas from family, friends and young farmers across Cornwall.
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An inquest hearing took place at Truro Coroners Court in Truro today (Monday, March 25) to understand the circumstances surrounding his death. The inquest heard that the young farmer had spent the week at the Royal Cornwall Show drinking with friends and was returning home in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Jordan Williams and his girlfriend were in the other vehicle involved in the collision and were travelling to Birmingham. Mr Williams described seeing lights coming towards him in his lane on the A30 at around 3.30am and tried to swerve to avoid it, reports Cornwall Live.
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Mr Williams had to swerve suddenly to avoid a crash, but the other car did the same thing, causing them to hit each other. After making sure his girlfriend was okay and getting out of the car, he went to see if the other driver was hurt.
He told us: "As I arrived at the other car a male opened the driver's door and I asked if he was alright," adding, "I didn't get a proper response just a grunt and a mumble." He saw that Jack didn't seem to be hurt, so he helped his girlfriend out of their car. A delivery driver also stopped to help them.
But when he got back, Mr Williams said Jack had left the site of the crash and later, Jack was deemed a high risk missing person. The police found Jack in a field close by more than a day later, but he had sadly died.
Jack's mum, Mrs Thomas, shared that Jack went to St Buryan primary school, then Cape Cornwall School, and after that, he studied A-levels at Penwith College in Penzance. He got into Harper Adams University to study farming and, having secured good grades throughout his years in education, Jack wanted to come back home to Cornwall one day and work on the family farm with his dad.
During the week of Jack's passing, his mum shared that he had been spending quality time at home with family and catching up with his young farmer friends. He was scheduled to fly back to work in Ireland from Newquay on Sunday evening. His mum believes that Jack, who had no known mental health issues, took his own life "while he was in a panic" after a car crash, as he "always hated getting into trouble". She thought he probably wanted to drive home to Sennen early on Sunday to rest before his journey.
She said: "Jack will be greatly missed by the farming community as well as his friends and family," She also mentioned that staff at Harper Adams University and his colleagues at McCains all remembered him as a friendly young man. A celebration of life held after his death was attended by 1,000 people, which she said "speaks to the impact that he had on people".
Detective constable Katherine Rhodes from Devon and Cornwall Police explained that the collision happened between the old Chiverton Cross and Carland Cross. Mr Williams had already crossed Chiverton at the time of the crash. She noted that there were significant roadworks due to the ongoing A30 upgrade between (the former) Chiverton Cross and Carland Cross, but two lanes were still available on either side of the road at the time.
An examination after the sad event found that Jack had a blood alcohol level of 93mgs in every 100ml of blood, just a bit above the driving limit of 80mgs. The coroner said that our bodies make alcohol when we die, so this number may have gone up after Jack passed away.
Andrew Cox, the senior coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, recorded that Jack took his own life. "In her evidence, Mrs Thomas said she believes her son has panicked after this and I think that's right," he said, adding he doesn't believe that what had happened to Jack could have happened by way of accident and that his death occurred deliberately.
