A “highly regarded” vet is believed to have died instantly when he lost control of his BMW while two-and-a-half times over the drink-drive limit, an inquest has heard. Two teenagers in the vehicle also died at the scene after the horror crash near Liskeard last year.
Ben Mason, aged 30, from Liskeard, died when his car left the road and struck a tree in St Ive shortly before midnight on April 18, 2023. Two other young men, aged 16 and 18, were killed in the crash and four teenagers, all aged between 15 and 16, in a second vehicle, were arrested at the time.
An inquest held at Cornwall Coroner’s Court today (June 17) found the vet is believed to have died on impact after “losing control”. An initial inquest focused on Ben’s death, while a separate inquest is being held to determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Jamie Lane and Luke Warner, who were passengers in his vehicle at the time.
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Police officer Helen Lenten, the officer in the case, told the court she was leading a substantial investigation into the three deaths. She explained that Ben Mason had been driving his black BMW M135i with passengers Jamie and Luke, while four young occupants drove in a separate vehicle, a silver Audi, along the 50mph road.
CCTV footage had placed both cars in different areas including on Kit Hill before traveling to Callington, and they were eventually spotted in St Ive where the collision took place. She said the teens in the second vehicle were not present at the time of the crash and came across the wreck shortly afterward.
PC Lenten told the court that CCTV footage showed both vehicles in nearby Callington before the crash, but police were unable to put speed on the cars. A thorough investigation revealed that Ben failed to negotiate a left-hand bend and collided head-on with a tree on the opposite side of the road in St Ive.
The investigation found that both Ben and Jamie were wearing seat belts, but Luke, who was in the back seat, was not. Shortly after the crash, the driver of the second vehicle came across the wreckage, stopped and attempted to open the doors of Ben’s BMW and the teens “yelled at” the three occupants in the car.
They described the car then smoking before leaving the scene. In a police interview, they told officers they believed all three occupants were dead when they left. The court heard how the driver of the second vehicle took his mother’s car without permission while she was on holiday.
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The four occupants of the Audi, two boys and two girls, described Ben’s ‘erratic’ driving behavior during police interviews. They said he would stop to let them pass before performing dangerous overtaking maneuvers, at one point almost crashing head-on into another car.
PC Lentern said a major consideration during the investigation was whether the two vehicles were racing each other, but officers were unable to prove this was the case. The teens’ four statements were described as “fairly consistent” and all said Ben was driving erratically and they were not.
The teens claimed they called the people in the BMW to urge them to slow down. Police have managed to obtain logs from seven mobile phones which show that telephone conversations did indeed take place between them, but their contents are not visible. Only one phone was recovered from the wreckage and it was too damaged to assist with any investigation.
As part of the investigation, police also obtained a copy of a video Ben had sent to a friend the day before the crash, in which he bragged about driving up to 160 mph and said he could “handle more.” Video footage showed his speedometer and he said it “felt like nothing” to him to be traveling at such speeds.
A toxicology test showed Ben’s blood alcohol level was two and a half times the legal limit when the vehicle crashed in St Ive. PC Lenten said this would have slowed down response times and would have been considered risk-taking.
Stephen Covell, assistant coroner for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, recorded a conclusion of death from a road traffic accident. He described the events as, in his opinion, “erratic and dangerous driving and totally unnecessary”.
“I note that in the period from 10pm to the time of the accident, Ben drove his BMW erratically in the company of another vehicle, was involved in dangerous overtaking maneuvers and that his blood alcohol level exceeded the legal limit. influenced his decision-making.”
After his death, Ben’s family paid tribute to their beloved son and brother. They said he was “highly regarded” among friends and colleagues and “lived life to the fullest”.
“Ben was a loving son and brother who was highly regarded among his friends and colleagues,” they said. “He lived his life to the fullest, always longed for adventure and had a great passion for travel.
“Throughout his life he cared deeply for all animals, big and small. He was known for his infectious smile and cheeky sense of humor. A talented and dedicated soul left this world too soon and will be forever missed by those who loved him kept. “