Kenilworth father killed on A46 was almost three times over limit

Andrew Sprowson, who lived in Kenilworth, was on his way to Birmingham Airport on March 13 when his black BMW came off the road and veered up an embankment before being sliced in two by a tree.

It hit with such force that the tree was pulled from its roots, the car sliced in two and a wheel flung 95 metres away.

The 40-year-old, who was heading north from Kenilworth at around 5am was killed at the scene and the car later found in two sections along the road.

Part of the engine was found 10 metres away. No other vehicles were involved.

Post mortem investigations found the father-of-two was almost three times over the legal drink drive limit.

Warwickshire PC Grant Dumbleton told the inquest in Leamington there was no was to know how fast the car had been travelling beyond “great speed”. No other vehicles were involved in the 5am crash.

“There was catastrophic damage to the BMW which had been split in two diagonally along its length,” he said.

“The force necessary to do this would have been massive and only could have been done through excessive speed.

“The engine was carried clear of the road but no obstructions were found. There was shallow standing water on the road but that would have been no problem for a careful driver driving at a safe speed.

“The catastrophic damage suggests he was travelling at very high speed and with a high level of intoxication.”

Mr Sprowson was an orthopaedic surgeon at University Hospital and an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at Warwick Medical School.

At the time of his death he was travelling to Glasgow to attend a medical conference.

The inquest heard from colleagues who had contact with him the previous evening but who had “no idea” why he was travelling the route he was or why he did not take a taxi to the airport as planned - guessing he intended to go via the hospital to collect items.

Warwickshire Coroner, Sean McGovern sent condolences to his widow, Louise and two children aged 8 and 6.

Returning a verdict of death by road traffic collision, he said: “Mr Sprowson’s blood alcohol level was two and a half times the legal driving limit. He lost control and the force of the impact was such that his car was split in two.

“All of these factors indicate the BMW was travelling at very high speed. His intoxication and possible tiredness contributed to him losing control of his vehicle.

“My thoughts go to his family. I met Mr Sprowson on one occasion and found him to be a very charming man.”