Car ‘flipped’ and ‘rolled’ into river whilst teenager drove at ‘excessive speed’

One of the passengers believed that the driver wanted to ‘show off’, an inquest heard

A teenage boy died after driving a car at an “inappropriate speed” and ending up “fully submerged” in a river, an inquest has heard. Declan Berry and four other teenagers, aged between 16 and 18, were in the car when it entered the River Nene in North Brink, Wisbech St Mary on March 17.

The body of Eden Bunn, 16, from Sutton Bridge, was recovered the following day. The car, a VW Polo, was later recovered from the river. The three other passengers were able to escape the vehicle.

Police were called to Crab March in Wisbech by a local river official on March 31 and a body recovered there was confirmed to be teenager Declan.

An inquest into Declan’s death was held on Monday, September 21 by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Area Coroner Elizabeth Gray.

Detective Constable Les Ellmer said in court that the vehicle had rolled and entered the river when it became “fully submerged”. One front seat passenger and two rear seat passengers exited the vehicle.

The vehicle was registered to Declan, who had a full driving license and three penalty points. Evidence heard in court revealed the road, which has a 60mph speed limit, had “numerous potholes” and “uneven surfaces along its length”. There had previously been more than 100 reported complaints regarding the condition of the road on North Brink. Works were due to take place to repair the road but subsequently took place following the collision, according to evidence.

The front seat passenger had met the other occupants at a McDonald’s. Witness evidence explained that the front seat passenger believed Declan wanted to “show off”. The passenger reportedly noticed Declan was driving at around 90mph prior to the collision. They said a pothole possibly caused the vehicle to “suddenly lose control”. They heard Declan say “Oh Sh**” before the collision.

A rear seat passenger said the group had driven around Wisbech and met the front seat passenger at McDonald’s. All occupants were wearing seatbelts except one of the rear seat passengers.

A witness statement from one of the rear seat passengers read out in court said there was no music playing which they felt was “unusual”, adding that the atmosphere felt “eerie”. The witness statement explained that the passenger did not express concern of the speed and was “accustomed” to Declan driving fast.

A second rear passenger said they recalled the vehicle “flipping” and “rolled” before entering the river. At one point, the witness believed they “may not be able to escape”.

A nearby local named Thomas, who was adjacent to the River Nene, said he heard a “loud impact”, describing the vehicle as “rolling through the air”. He contacted emergency services and located three of the occupants.

A post-mortem examination determined that Declan’s cause of death was drowning. Coroner Gray concluded that Declan died as a result of a road traffic collision.

The vehicle’s speed was deemed the “most significant” contributory factor, with the presence of potholes acting as another contributory factor. Coroner Gray said the car had been driven at an “excessive” and “inappropriate speed”. The inquest heard that had Declan been driving at a reduced speed, it would have been “unlikely” that the loss of control and rollover would have been so severe.