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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Accident verdict over coach crash | Accident verdict over coach crash |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Verdicts of accidental death have been recorded on 11 tourists who died after a speeding coach went off a motorway and crashed in France 16 years ago. | Verdicts of accidental death have been recorded on 11 tourists who died after a speeding coach went off a motorway and crashed in France 16 years ago. |
| Six passengers from Shropshire and five from the West Midlands were killed in the accident 80 miles south of Paris. | Six passengers from Shropshire and five from the West Midlands were killed in the accident 80 miles south of Paris. |
| Coroner Michael Gwynne, said the deaths had been aggravated by the excessive speed of the vehicle and a failure to check tyre pressures. | Coroner Michael Gwynne, said the deaths had been aggravated by the excessive speed of the vehicle and a failure to check tyre pressures. |
| The inquest was delayed by appeals over the driver's manslaughter conviction. | The inquest was delayed by appeals over the driver's manslaughter conviction. |
| Courier 'laughed' | Courier 'laughed' |
| The hearing was told the double-decker coach, run by a Shropshire-based firm, was travelling from Spain's Costa Brava to Calais in France in June 1990. | |
| It ended up on its side and crashed through concrete fence posts into a field after its front offside tyre burst. | It ended up on its side and crashed through concrete fence posts into a field after its front offside tyre burst. |
| Valerie Reynolds, whose husband Michael died in the crash, told the hearing the coach was being "pushed on" as it was running late. | Valerie Reynolds, whose husband Michael died in the crash, told the hearing the coach was being "pushed on" as it was running late. |
| Mrs Reynolds said passengers had expressed concerns to a female courier about the coach swaying and going too fast, but she laughed. | Mrs Reynolds said passengers had expressed concerns to a female courier about the coach swaying and going too fast, but she laughed. |
| It should have been travelling at no more than 56mph (90km/h) but a tachograph showed it was doing 78mph (126km/h). | It should have been travelling at no more than 56mph (90km/h) but a tachograph showed it was doing 78mph (126km/h). |
| 'Sad tale' | 'Sad tale' |
| The driver, John Johnstone, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was given a suspended prison term by a French court in 2003 after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter. | The driver, John Johnstone, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was given a suspended prison term by a French court in 2003 after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter. |
| Appeals against it meant paperwork for the inquest was not sent to Britain until earlier this year. The driver died in August of natural causes, aged 68. | Appeals against it meant paperwork for the inquest was not sent to Britain until earlier this year. The driver died in August of natural causes, aged 68. |
| Mr Gwynne, the Telford and Wrekin Coroner, said: "You have heard the sad tale of how matters just went on. | Mr Gwynne, the Telford and Wrekin Coroner, said: "You have heard the sad tale of how matters just went on. |
| "Never have I experienced the sort of lack of information which I was given every time I made a request over the 16 years this has gone on." | "Never have I experienced the sort of lack of information which I was given every time I made a request over the 16 years this has gone on." |