A man, who was registered blind, died when he was hit by a taxi as he walked in the middle of the road, an inquest has heard. Warren Hooper was walking down Sealand Road on the Wales and England border when he was struck by a vehicle.
Dashcam footage shown at the hearing in Ruthin revealed how Mr Hooper, 50, who was wearing dark clothing, suddenly appeared in the headlights of Tarek Mokhtar’s taxi at about 3am on November 27, 2022. In a statement read at the inquest Mr Mokhtar said: “There was nothing I could do.”
Mr Hooper was heading back towards his home in Cotes Place, Blacon, Chester. The inquest was told that he had taken a taxi to the Texaco garage, which is open all night, but because of his behaviour the taxi driver – not Mr Mokhtar – he got out to walk the rest of the way home, reports Daily Post.
He bought some cigarettes and was reported to be stumbling and bumping into things. In the dashcam footage Mr Mokhtar’s headlights picked him out close to the centre of the road as he appeared to be crossing which was unlit and had a 50mph speed limit.
The forensic collision investigator, Meilir Hywel, said the dashcam showed that Mr Mokhtar had been driving at a sensible speed and although the vehicle’s standard halogen headlights had been replaced by LED lights, they would have been brighter.
Mr Hooper suffered multiple injuries and although some alcohol and traces of cocaine were found his system pathologist Dr Mohammad Aslam said they would not have contributed to his death in any way.
John Gittins, senior coroner for North Wales East and Central, read a statement at the hearing from Mr Hooper’s mum, Maureen Hollingsworth. She explained that her son had been registered blind since an accident in which the retina in his right eye had been damaged.
Mr Hooper was totally blind in that eye and had limited sight in his left eye. It was from his right-hand side that Mr Mokhtar’s taxi approached.
Brought up in Rhyl, he enjoyed reading and watching quiz TV shows. “He was extremely knowledgeable,” said Mrs Hollingsworth. An electrical engineer, he worked with his father in Germany for some time but after the accident was no longer able to work.
“He fell in with the wrong people,” she said. The coroner recorded a conclusion of a road traffic collision.
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond.Sign up to our daily newsletter.