A SCHOOLBOY was killed running out into a busy road as he tried to find where his older brothers were playing, an inquest heard.
Dexter Chapman, five, was struck by a car on the A390 road at Penpillick Hill in Par, Cornwall, in April last year.
Google Street ViewDexter Chapman, five, was struck by a car on the A390 road[/caption]
A coroner said he had seen dashcam footage from a nearby car of the collision which he would not show to the inquest on Thursday.
The inquest in Truro, Cornwall, heard that Dexter had been playing in the front garden with his brothers when the older siblings went to play on a swing in a neighbour’s garden.
The assistant coroner for Cornwall Stephen Covell said:”It is likely Dexter left home to search for his brothers who had gone off to a neighbour’s garden.”
But the blond haired boy, who was still in his school uniform, went down a track towards the main road.
Witnesses saw him look right and left as he stood on an overgrown grass verge.
Mr Covell said Dexter may have misjudged the speed of the approaching car or not realised what he needed to look for as he had “no experience of crossing roads”.
Dexter ran out into the three lane road and the car driver had no chance of avoiding him as he was driving at up to 45mph on the steep hill.
The driver said in a statement that Dexter ran out in front of him in a split second and he braked hard but could not avoid hitting him.
He said: “I saw something move. It all happened at speed. The next second a child came out onto the road in front of me.
“He stopped as if he didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know which way to steer to avoid him. It all happened so fast.”
There were no defects on the Ford Fiesta.
The schoolboy suffered catastrophic head and other injuries and, despite aid given by passing drivers, he died at the scene.
Dexter’s parents said he was a “happy, active child” who liked to be out and about and was a “cheeky story teller”.
The coroner recorded a road traffic collision conclusion.
Mr Covell said: “It is likely that Dexter didn’t have any experience of crossing the road or did not see the car or misjudged the speed it was travelling at.
“It’s likely that he was just looking for his brother and thought they might have gone back to the road.
“He ran across the road into the first lane of the carriageway into the path of the Ford Fiesta. Emergency brakes were applied.
“The driver locked his wheels and tried to steer into the outside lane but Dexter continued to run across the road and the collision took place.
“The driver was unable to avoid the collision.”
Casey Bowerman/GoFundMeDexter’s parents said he was a ‘happy, active child’[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
