A MAN died after he deliberately walked into the path of an oncoming HGV while under the influence of cocaine, an inquest heard.

Daniel Stephens, 35, of Middlesbrough, passed away at the scene of the tragedy on the A66 Eastbound at Brough on July 7, 2023.

An inquest into his death held at Cockermouth Coroners’ Court heard he had travelled with his sister, Rebecca Stephens, to her partner’s home in Cumbria on July 6.

Miss Stephens had received a message from Mr Stephens’ partner, Natalie Cremin, who said they had been arguing over his cocaine use the previous evening.

Mr Stephens was described as ‘agitated’ but appeared to have calmed down by the time they arrived in Cumbria. He was clearly still under the influence of cocaine, the inquest heard.

He began drinking alcohol and was arguing via text message with Miss Cremin, who at the time was pregnant with their third child.

Mr Stephens said he wanted to go back to Middlesbrough but his sister would not allow him to drive and agreed to take him.

When they got to the garage area of Kirkby Thore, Mr Stephens got out of the car and stood in the path of a heavy goods vehicle travelling on the opposite side of the road. The vehicle was able to stop in time and avoid a collision.

Mr Stephens got back into the car and continued to exchange messages with Miss Cremin. His sister stopped the vehicle at Brough and put her hazard lights on. Mr Stephens got out of the car, despite her attempts to stop him.

He walked into the fast lane of the carriageway into the path of an HGV. Paramedics arrived but Mr Stephens was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Stephens’ mother said her son did not have a history of depression or self-harm.

The inquest heard the driver of the HGV ‘couldn’t have done anything to avoid the collision’ and had been left ‘absolutely devastated’ by what had happened.

A toxicology report revealed that Mr Stephens had taken cocaine in the hours prior to death and he also had cannabis in his system. He died as a result of an ‘unsurvivable’ brain injury.

Margaret Taylor, assistant coroner for Cumbria, returned a narrative conclusion, which said, Mr Stephens, ‘while under the influence of cannabis and cocaine deliberately walked into the path of an oncoming HGV and sustained a fractured skull and intracranial haemorrhage. He died as a consequence of an unsurvivable brain injury.’