A CORONER has ruled that the death of a 93-year-old Penrith man hit by a car as he walked across the A66 after his own vehicle broke down was a 'tragic accident'.

Jack Buckingham, a retired architect, was remembered by his daughter, Julie Inkersole, as an active man who enjoyed life.

“He was full of fun and laughter. He loved nothing more than making anybody smile,” she said in a statement which was read into an inquest into Mr Buckingham’s death today (Tuesday).

“My father will be sadly missed by all who knew him.”

'I heard a tremendous bang'

Mr Buckingham and his wife, Eunice, were taken out in their car on August 4 last year. Mrs Inkersole drove and reported the vehicle “did not feel right”.

An AA employee who inspected the vehicle next morning went for a short drive and concluded there was nothing wrong with it.

Mr and Mrs Buckingham went for a 'quick run' but as they travelled on the A66 dual carriageway, east of Penrith, the car stalled or failed close to Stainton, at the junction for Flusco.

Leaving the vehicle in a turning lane, Mr Buckingham crossed the road to speak with an HGV driver at around 11am.

“I heard a tremendous bang,” his wife stated. She did not see the crash but was stood with passer-by Gillian Woodburne, who had stopped to help after seeing the car in an 'odd' position.

Mrs Buckingham described being “very frightened” while waiting for her husband to return.

“I then saw an elderly man try to run back across the road towards us,” said Ms Woodburne. “The next thing I knew he had been hit by a car. It all happened so fast. I let out a scream.”

She heard Mrs Buckingham say “Oh no, Jack.”

'My heart goes out to Jack’s family'

Driving the car was Raja Kumar, who was returning alone to his home in Buxton, Derbyshire, after a holiday at Portinscale, near Keswick.

Feeling “fresh and alert” he had his Skoda Fabia’s cruise control set to 70mph.

“I suddenly noticed with horror a man was standing in the road in front of me,” said Mr Kumar in a statement, who described the pedestrian as being around two car lengths away. “He seemed a bit dazed and unsure what direction to go in.”

Despite braking and swerving, Mr Kumar was unable to avoid a tragic collision. “I felt a terrible impact,” he recalled.

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Mr Buckingham suffered catastrophic multiple injuries and was formally pronounced dead having been airlifted by medics to hospital in Newcastle.

A distressed Mr Kumar had stated: “My heart goes out to Jack’s family, especially his wife who I gather was in the car at the time of the incident. They must be heartbroken. My thoughts are very much with them.”

Two passing doctors, a nurse and a physiotherapist independently went to Mr Buckingham’s aid. Robert Cohen, assistant Cumbria coroner, told the inquest: “It is to the enormous credit of all of the doctors and clinicians who stopped and sought to assist.”

'This was a tragic accident'

Mr Cohen recorded an official cause of death as road traffic collision, expressing his profound sympathy to Mr Buckingham’s family while also praising Mr Kumar’s “very gracious and generous spirited manner”.

“I can only imagine the horror that he has experienced but it is entirely to his credit that he has given such a detailed account and expressed such genuine sympathy for Jack’s family,” concluded Mr Cohen.

“It’s not my function as a corner to apportion blame or liability though for the avoidance of doubt, even if that had been my function, I very much doubt I would have had any blame to apportion here.

"This was a tragic accident.”