Man deliberately drove into coach

A man died after deliberately driving head-on into a coach on the other side of the road, an inquest has concluded.

Mathew Chapman, 32, died of multiple injuries at the scene of the collision close to the Cleddau Bridge in Pembrokeshire on 5 September 2023.

He drove his Mitsubishi Outlander into the opposite lane of the A477 and into the path of the oncoming coach carrying holidaymakers from Cumbria.

Acting senior coroner Paul Bennett told the inquest in Haverfordwest that Mr Chapman had “a probable intent to end his life by placing his vehicle into the path of the oncoming bus” and concluded he died as a result of suicide.

The driver of the Titterington Holidays coach was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition while a number of its 41 passengers were injured.

Originally from Dunstable, Mr Chapman had been living in Pembrokeshire with his fiancée Catrin Jones.

Ms Jones, known as Katie, said Mr Chapman was loved by everybody who met him and had “a smile that lit up every room he walked into”.

She described their relationship as a “fairy tale” but said they had a number of disagreements in the weeks leading up to the incident and had been due to attend a counselling session the day after the fatal crash.

She called 111 the day before the incident to ask for mental health advice after Mr Chapman suffered a “panic attack”, the inquest heard.

“He did attempt to leave the house in the car, but I physically stopped him because he was so upset,” she said.

Matters were “better” on the day of the crash but Ms Jones said Mr Chapman was upset with her for not taking the day off work to talk through what had happened.

Ms Jones said she realised after coming off a work call that Mr Chapman had left their home in the car.

“I didn’t think he was suicidal, but I knew he wasn’t in a good state of mind”, she said.

The inquest heard the road surface was dry and visibility was clear at the time and the crash was described as sounding like an “explosion” by a witness.

Dyfed-Powys Police forensic collision investigator David Stacey said the car was travelling at a speed of about 40-45mph (65-72km/h) and there was no evidence of braking or deviation prior to impact.

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