A PEDESTRIAN who died after being hit by a pick-up truck on the A38 in Brent Knoll was almost four times over the drink-drive limit while walking in the middle of the road, an inquest heard.

Jeffrey Smith, 35, of Highbridge, had caused several motorists to take evasive action to avoid him as he walked erratically along Bristol Road at around 4am on September 17 last year, before he was struck.

Mr Smith sustained a fractured dislocation of his upper cervical spine and, despite attempts by members of the public to revive him, was pronounced dead at the scene.

At an inquest in Taunton on Wednesday (June 10), senior coroner for Somerset Tony Williams said a post mortem examination found there were traces of cocaine and diazepam in Mr Smith's system at the time of his death.

Mr Williams read out a statement from Mr Smith's fiancee, Jade Parton, who said he had been suffering from a drinking problem in the months leading up to his death and had sought medical advice after losing his job as a plumber at Haven Holiday Park.

She described him as a 'cheeky, loving person' who was a 'romantic' man.

Ms Parton said Mr Smith underwent a routine sinus operation at Weston General Hospital on September 16 but discharged himself later that day, despite her hoping he would seek mental health support while at the hospital.

When he returned home Ms Parton said Mr Smith appeared to be 'agitated'  and had asked her to transfer money into his bank account, but she was unable to due to a problem with her online banking.

She said Mr Smith said he wanted to have a beer and later that day she was able to put £5 into his bank account.

But at 2am the following morning (September 17) Ms Parton said Mr Smith told her he was leaving the house to walk back to the hospital in Weston, approximately 10 miles from his home, despite her pleas for him to wait until the morning.

She returned to bed and discovered he had died later that day after police officers arrived at her home.

The coroner also read a statement from Nicholas Weston, the driver of a Mitsubishi L200 pick-up truck, who worked for a haulage company and was on his way to work at the time of the incident.

At approximately 4am, Nicholas Weston was driving along the A38 when he became aware of what he described as "a pair of jeans and a carrier bag" in front of him.

He said he had no chance to avoid a collision and described feeling a "massive impact" as he hit something on the road.

Mr Weston pulled over and got out of his car and said he was in 'total shock' when saw what he thought was a body in the road behind him.

The coroner also read statements from several passersby who stopped and administered first aid to Mr Smith after the crash.

Statements from a number of eyewitnesses who saw Mr Smith before the crash were also read out at the inquest, and said a man who was wearing dark clothing was walking erratically in the middle of the A38, forcing some of them to swerve to avoid him.

At the scene police officers recovered a rucksack and a carrier bag which contained several beer cans.

A toxicology report carried out by Dr Stephen Holwill following a post-mortem at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton found Mr Smith had a blood alcohol concentration of 318 milligrams per 100ml of blood.

The legal limit for driving is 80.

Dr Holwill said this would "likely have caused a significant impairment of Mr Smith's cerebral function".

A police investigation found that Mr Weston's vehicle had no defects that would likely have contributed to the crash and that the section of road on which the crash occurred had no street lighting, but the road surface and markings were in a good condition.

PC Daniel Tatham, forensic collision investigator at Avon and Somerset Police, said: "At around 4am on September 17, Nicholas Weston was driving a Mitsubishi L200 on the A38.

"At the same time, Jeffrey Smith was walking in the same northbound direction with his back to the flow of oncoming traffic while impaired due to the consumption of alcohol.

"Intoxication was not a factor for Mr Weston, while Mr Smith was very drunk, was wearing non-reflective clothing on a road without lighting.

"Mr Weston then struck Mr Smith, causing fatal injuries.

“Based on his experience of that road, Mr Weston would not have expected the sudden appearance of Mr Smith and had an extremely limited amount of time and distance to react and take action to avoid a collision.

"It is my opinion that this collision was unavoidable."

Senior coroner Tony Williams recorded a conclusion of accidental death.

He said: "At approximately 4am on September 17, 2019 on the A38 Bristol Road at Brent Knoll, Jeffrey Smith was wearing dark clothing and walking in the road while under the influence of alcohol.

"He was subsequently struck by a motor car and sustained fatal injuries."