Young dad and 'talented' racing mechanic who died in crash on way home from pub was over drink drive limit, inquest told
A young father and talented mechanic from Walsall who crashed his car on his way home from the pub and died was found to be well in excess of the drink drive limit, an inquest heard.
Dad-of-one Matthew Malcolm Jewkes, aged 37, was driving his late 1960s MG C Roadster convertible in Worfield, near Bridgnorth, after meeting friends on April 4 this year.
He crashed on Bridgnorth Road that evening and the car ended up on its soft-top roof.
Paramedics and police officers were sent to the scene, however nothing could be done to save Mr Jewkes and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mr Jewkes, who was born in Walsall, was a “highly respected and sought-after” mechanical engineer in the motor racing world and in classic cars.
He worked for British Touring Car Championship racer Rob Austin and had his own classic car restoration garage, Nova Motorcraft, in Wombourne near Wolverhampton.
An inquest into Mr Jewkes’s death was held yesterday (Thursday) at Shropshire Coroner’s Court, Guildhall, Shrewsbury.
A collision investigator’s report was summarised at the hearing.
The crash was reported to the emergency services at around 10.59pm. There were no other vehicles involved and Mr Jewkes was the sole occupant of the car. Mr Jewkes was declared dead at 11.45pm.
It was said that Mr Jewkes's death would have been “almost instant” and there would have been “no suffering”.
There were no defects in the road.
A toxicology report found he had 141 milligrams of alcohol per litre of blood. The legal limit in England and Wales is 80mg per litre.
There were no witnesses to the crash and no dashcam footage.
John Ellery, senior coroner for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, recorded a conclusion of road traffic collision.
Many of Mr Jewkes’s loved ones were at the hearing, including his partner Hannah Bishton, who he shared a daughter with.
A statement she prepared was read during the inquest.
'Extremely popular'
She said that Mr Jewkes was born at Walsall Manor Hospital and lived in the Bentley area of the town with his family, before moving to Pattingham, near Wolverhampton, in 2006.
She said he enjoyed spending a lot of time with his father, learning about cars and engines, and had his first motorbike when he was aged just seven.
Mr Jewkes enjoyed taking pushbikes apart and fixing them for his friends when he was a youngster and was “extremely popular,” his partner said.
He studied mechanical engineering in Derbyshire, with one of his lecturers saying he “would go far in life”.
Mr Jewkes also worked with John Danby Racing.
His partner said: “His incredible talent and extensive knowledge made him highly respected and sought-after.”
It was in 2012 when Mr Jewkes and his partner first met. They bought their first house together in Pattingham in 2014 and their daughter was born four years later.
It was said that Mr Jewkes wore a Hawaiian shirt at the birth and when asked why, he joked: “First impressions count!”
Mr Jewkes and his daughter “were inseparable,” his partner said, adding that she encouraged people to “wear silly shirts like daddy” at his funeral, which was full of “colours, cars and bikes”.
“He had a brilliant sense of humour and a loving heart,” Mr Jewkes’s partner said. “His loss has been devastating.”
