A PENSIONER from North Yorkshire was killed when he pulled out of a junction into the path of a Land Rover, an inquest heard.

The Land Rover’s driver, Tracey Stuart, told how she watched with horror as Fred Dawson’s Vauxhall Corsa emerged in front of her as she approached the crossroads at Kirby Hill, near Boroughbridge.

She said in a statement: “He started to pull out and then I started braking.

“I knew a collision was going to happen and there was absolutely nothing at all I could do to avoid him.

“Effectively he pulled straight out in front of me and I didn’t have the time or the distance to stop. I collided with him in the middle of the road. There was a big bang. I feel terrible about what happened, but there was nothing I could do.”

She said she had been driving at about 45mph along the road, which had a 60mph limit.

The inquest was told that Mr Dawson, 82, of Showfield Drive, Easingwold, was severely injured and died 11 days later at York Hospital.

Traffic Sergeant David Foster said Mr Dawson’s car was struck side-on and was very vulnerable because it weighed about one tonne, compared to the Land Rover’s 2.7 tonnes.

He said he could find no mechanical faults which could have explained the Corsa, which had previously stopped at a Give Way sign, emerging into the road. He said the driver would have had a clear view of the Land Rover approaching and excessive speed by the Land Rover driver did not seem to have been a factor.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Coroner Rob Turnbull said Mr Dawson had no previous driving convictions and had been a careful driver.