Tobias Barraclough

I am M D FLEMING, HM Senior Coroner for the coroner area of West Yorkshire Western Coroner Area

On 01/11/2023 I opened an inquest into the death of Joseph Samuel Walsh who at the date of his death was aged 19 years old. In addition upon 22/11/2023 I opened the inquest into the death of Tobias Crowther Barraclough, who at the date of his death was aged 18 years old. Their inquests were adjourned and both resumed and heard together and concluded by me on Tuesday 17th December 2024. In the case of Joseph Samuel Walsh I found that the cause of death to be: – 1a Head Injuries In the case of Tobias Crowther Barraclough I found the cause of death to be:- 1a Severe traumatic and hypoxic brain injuries 1b Road Traffic Collision causing injuries to the brain face and chest The conclusion of both inquests was Road Traffic Collision

On 20/10/2023 Joseph Samuel Walsh was driving his motor car and carrying Tobias Crowther Barraclough along with 3 other passengers [REDACTED] (aged 18), [REDACTED] (aged 18), [REDACTED] (aged 18) and [REDACTED] (aged 17). All had been previously celebrating a birthday in a local public house and consumed alcohol.  Joseph’s post mortem found that he had consumed both alcohol and cocaine, which would have placed him over the legal limit to drive.  As Joseph drove the car along Brow Lane, Shelf, Halifax, a residential road with a 20mph speed limit, he lost control of the vehicle and collided with a wall, causing him to instantaneously sustain fatal injuries from which he died at 23:54. Sadly, although Tobias was taken to hospital, he later succumbed and died from his injuries upon 12/11/2023. The surviving passengers sustained injuries as a result of the collision.

During the course of the investigation my inquiries revealed matters giving rise to concern. In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken.  In the circumstances it is my statutory duty to report to you. The MATTERS OF CONCERN are as follows: (brief summary of matters of concern) ·      Joseph was aged 18 at the time of his death following the collision and had passed his driving test in May 2023. This was five months prior to the collision.  At the time of the collision, he was legally carrying 5 young friends. ·      Currently there are no legal restrictions upon the licences of young and /or newly qualified drivers and the current vehicle licensing regime permits the carrying of young persons as passengers in circumstances such as these ·      Young drivers may be more likely to be involved in a collision with similar aged passengers in the car. ·      I would ask you to consider the appropriateness of reviewing the current provisions since I am concerned that there will be further like tragic deaths.

In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you (and/or your organisation) have the power to take such action.