The driver of a car which veered across the A149 at Castle Rising and hit another car probably suffered a heart attack at the wheel, an inquest heard yesterday.
William Backshall, 84, of Wereham, was driving home from Hunstanton with his wife Betty on November 3 last year when his Mercedes swerved across the road and hit another Mercedes driven by Billy Williams, who was travelling in the opposite direction.
Mr Williams said: “We saw headlights heading straight towards us. It looked like the car was pulling out to overtake. I started to brake and swerve towards the grass verge to get out of the way. I saw him swerve directly into our path and there was a collision on the driver’s side.”
The pathologist who carried out Mr Backshall’s post mortem said his cause of death was a heart attack and she concluded that it was most likely that he suffered a heart attack before he veered off the road.
Coroner William Armstrong’s verdict was that Mr Backshall died from natural causes and said: “It is more likely than not that he died as a result of a sudden cardiac event.”
Mr Armstrong said Mr Backshall was a remarkable man who led a remarkable life, which included helping out in the 1953 floods.
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