Dad killed after ploughing into lorry while going 70mph during police chase
A young dad was killed in a horror crash when he drove in the opposite direction of traffic and ploughed into a lorry during a high-speed pursuit in east London.
Kayne Gardner, 30, from Newham, got into a stolen Audi Q5 when police arrested a man outside the Faces nightclub in Gants Hill, Ilford on October 21, 2018, an inquest heard.
He was told by the man to "get rid of it" although there is no evidence Kayne was the thief.
The court heard Kayne was driving "unusually" and mounted the pavement, briefly driving on the wrong side of the road.
Terrifying helicopter footage that led up to Kayne's death shows him driving against traffic on the North Circular Road in Woodford in erratic behaviour.
He was swerving between lanes at a speed of 70mph while police officers followed him closely from the air.
It was not long until the car went out of control and started spinning, hitting an HGV just under an overpass.
An officer quickly notified his colleagues of the crash and called for more units to attend the scene.
The court heard Kayne had a blood-alcohol level of 228 mg per 100ml of blood – nearly three times over the drink-drive limit of 80mg per 100ml of blood.
A toxicologist also found traces of THC – the psychoactive substance found in cannabis.
Pathologist Dr Hiam Ali gave a cause of death as a head injury that was "incompatible with life" and consistent with a road traffic collision, with contributing factors of cannabis use and excess alcohol intake.
Assistant coroner Ian Wade QC told jurors: "It is what happened. It wasn’t staged, the event wasn’t anticipated. It has not been edited. It is not gruesome, but it is graphic.
"You are not likely to be distressed but you will possibly be shocked. There are no special effects, it is what it is."
PC Graham Brooks told the jury that he stopped pursing Kayne after assessing the impact of carrying a "tactical contact" to other drivers on the road.
He added: "I'm also now coming to terms with having to let that vehicle go and watching it drive now towards oncoming vehicles.
"If you are honestly in that situation where you are about to watch someone potentially die it's a horrendous situation to be in."
Kayne's girlfriend Bonnie Exley, with who he shares a daughter, said: "Our lives have been shattered. It’s been three years now and Kayne’s family still feels the pain of his death like it was yesterday.
"We will never forget him, all I can do is raise our daughter in a way that makes him proud."
The jury ruled Kayne died as a result of misadventure.
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