Couple and driver killed after pedal mix-up crash in Beumaris

A couple who were visiting a north Wales town were killed after a driver “lost control of his vehicle” while speeding, an inquest has heard.

Stephen and Katherine Burch, both 65, died in the crash in Beaumaris, Anglesey, in August 2024.

The driver, 81-year-old Humphrey John Pickering from Colwyn Bay, also died from major chest and internal injuries after he “applied the accelerator rather than the brake” and his automatic Audi collided with the couple.

The hearing in Caernarfon on Thursday was told Mr and Mrs Burch had no chance to react and avoid the collision, while Mr Pickering was not wearing a seatbelt and was driving “well in excess” of the 20mph speed limit at the time.

Mr Pickering was was unable to correct his error pedal in time, having accelerated from “25mph to 55mph in the five seconds before the collision”, the inquest was told.

All three were pronounced dead at the scene following the collision on Alma Street 28 August 2024.

Stephen and Katherine Burch were visiting Beaumaris from Alcester, Warwickshire, at the time.

Mr Pickering, a “physically active” retired librarian had been trying to manoeuvre out of a parking spot on Wall Street at about 14:45 BST that afternoon, to allow his wife – who was unable to enter due to its proximity to the wall – to get in to the vehicle.

Eyewitnesses and CCTV footage showed Mr Pickering “picking up speed” and “accelerating quickly” down the narrow road, knocking two pedestrians to the ground – who managed to escape injury.

He also avoided a parked car and a horse-drawn carriage while “swerving erratically”, before colliding with Mr and Mrs Burch and crashing into a property, causing structural damage.

One eyewitness described the noise as “like a firework had gone off”.

Pathologist Mark Atkinson said Mr and Mrs Burch sustained “multiple injuries”.

A police investigation found Mr Pickering was “conscious and active” at the time, with vehicle data showing “repeated pressing and depression of the accelerator”.

Eyewitnesses also noted Mr Pickering had an “angry facial expression” but that both of his hands were on the steering wheel.

During the hearing, Mr and Mrs Burch’s family raised questions over the circumstances.

Meilir Hywel, a forensic collision investigator with North Wales Police, told the hearing that neither the weather nor road condition were factors and that the most likely explanation was “a pedal misapplication”, with Mr Pickering having “reacted by applying the accelerator rather than brake pedal”.

Coroner Kate Robertson said there was no evidence to suggest a deliberate attempt by Mr Pickering to harm himself or others, adding it could not be determined if he was wearing his glasses or not.

She recorded the cause of death as a motor vehicle collision and described it as “one of the most traumatic cases I’ve come across”.

She thanked both families for acting “with huge dignity” throughout proceedings, adding there were “no words that will ease the pain and suffering you will all be feeling”.