Driver died after he attempted to take over another car

Abrar Khan, 27, died on February 28, on the A259 Marsh Road between Pevensey and Bexhill. The driver, who had no alcohol or drugs in his system, died of a head injury and would have been killed instantly in the crash.

The inquest heard that Mr Khan, of Snowdrop Close, Crawley, had been trying to overtake a blue Toyota Corolla and was on the eastbound carriageway of the single carriageway road when he met a silver Rover carrying three friends on their way back to Hastings from Eastbourne.

The driver, Ashley Mitchell, who had been driving for just over six months at the time, suffered serious injuries in the collision. He told the coroner driving conditions had been normal until he saw Mr Khan's white Vauxhall Corsa overtaking in his lane.

He braked quickly and steered to the left to try and avoid it but had a head-on collision.

His passengers, Ryan Kilbane and Kyle White, both said Ashley could have done nothing to stop the accident.

The Corsa hit the Rover, spinning clockwise and striking the front of the Toyota it had tried to overtake, ending up upside down in the westbound carriageway.

Mark Stevens, of Turner Close in Eastbourne, was the driver of one of two cars following the Corolla as Mr Khan tried to overtake it. He was returning from Bexhill with three friends and said the visibility was perfect.

He watched Mr Khan overtake the BMW in front, staying on the other side of the road facing oncoming traffic as he drew level with the Corolla in front.

He said, "He stayed on the wrong side of the road for far too long and didn't make the maneouvre."

David Keene, a Brighton man returning from a dance class in Bexhill, was driving the Toyota Mr Khan was trying to overtake and said he saw the approaching Rover while it was a quarter of a mile away but did not see Mr Khan make any attempt to stop or swerve.

PC Simon Rideout, of Shoreham Police, said in his evidence there were no defects in any of the cars which could have caused the accident.

He said, "Mr Khan attempted to carry out an overtake with insufficient space to do this safely and chose not to abandon the maneouvre or apply emergency braking when confronted with the Rover.

"The collision was a result of the actions or inactions of Mr Khan alone."

Coroner Joanna Pratt called the crash "tragic" and recorded a verdict of accidental death.