A YOUNG dad was “unfit” to be driving his car before a horror crash which killed him, a coroner said.

Conor Mitchell, 26, who was from the Bingley area but more recently living in Skipton, suffered a traumatic brain injury when he lost control of his car and hit a wall on Skipton Road, Utley, in the early hours of February 20 last year.

Mr Mitchell, described as a “loving, caring and sensitive man” was taken to Leeds General Infirmary, but died later that day.

An inquest held at Bradford Coroners’ Court heard he was over the drink-drive limit, had taken cannabis and cocaine and was not wearing a seatbelt.

Yesterday, coroner Angela Brocklehurst ruled Mr Mitchell was unfit to be driving the car, a Ford Focus, and died as a result of a road traffic accident.

The inquest heard he had been at the Library Tap, Bingley, the previous night and was driving home to Skipton in the early hours.

Evidence from ambulance worker Jacqueline Johnson, who saw Mr Mitchell’s car before the crash, described him as accelerating hard, slamming the brakes on and weaving across the carriageway. She recalled thinking to herself that the car “was going like a bullet out of a gun”.

People living on Skipton Road who rushed out to help and alerted the emergency services, spoke of the horrendous scene they were met with after the smash. Christopher Hewitt said he heard a loud noise, a car coming down Skipton Road, which sounded like it was approaching from the Keighley direction.

In a statement, he said: “I could hear it was being driven fast because it was very loud and approaching quickly.”

Another neighbour, Audun Carlson, described hearing a noise getting louder and louder and said: “I remember having this feeling that this can’t go well.”

He described hearing a sound “like a bomb had gone off”. Mr Hewitt said the car got closer and he could hear “revving” before hearing a “massive bang.”

He said he went out to find Mr Mitchell in the car, who “did not look in a very good way”.

The inquest heard there was a scene of devastation, with major damage to the car to the extent that the engine was in the road. In her conclusion, Mrs Brocklehurst pointed to the time of day and darkened conditions, the impact of alcohol, cannabis and cocaine on Mr Mitchell, a lack of sleep the previous night as he had been suffering from toothache for some time, plus the speed the car was going.

She said it will never be known whether Mr Mitchell, a joiner, was briefly distracted or not and the lack of a seatbelt contributed significantly to his injuries. The car and road surface had no defects and no other person or vehicle was involved.

The coroner told his family: “This was a terrible, tragic event which should never have happened and has caused the loss of a much loved son and partner. A man who was loved by many, who had all his life in front of him.”

As the inquest drew to a close, Mr Mitchell’s mother, Dawn, said her “beloved son” would be missed forever and despite the devastating circumstances of his death “we’ll focus on the many happy memories of him and the beautiful boy he was.”

She thanked the emergency services, as well as friends and family for their support.