Seatbelt may have saved young teenage driver

Jake Brain, of Welsh Road West, died on July 27 after the car he was driving in Napton Road, Stockton, careered into a hedge and turned onto its roof.

Four of the 17-year-old’s friends who had been travelling in the car were injured. Neither Jake nor his friends had been wearing seatbelts at the time.

An inquest held at the Justice Centre in Leamington on Wednesday was told by police constable Dean Spencer that the MG ZR sports car that Jake had been driving had been travelling at 70 mph along an ‘s’ bend in the road.

Pc Spencer said the car drifted across to the other side of the road and, although Jake tried to regain control by steering, he had “little or no control” of the car and it hit a hedge, which caused a front wheel to fly off and the car turned over. Jake was thrown from the car on to the road.

Jake, who had passed his driving test and bought the car just two months earlier, had not been drinking alcohol that day, nor had he taken any drugs.

Pc Spencer said: “It is clear from the witness’s evidence that the driver and passengers were not wearing seatbelts.

“The decision by the driver to not wear his seatbelt proved crucial. Had he been wearing his seatbelt, he would have remained in the vehicle and he may have not sustained such serious injuries.”

Jake’s mother Mary Brain, who was at the inquest with her husband and daughter, said during the hearing: “He was not a stupid 17-year-old. He made a mistake and he paid for it.

“We all loved him. He was a brilliant lad.”

Speaking afterwards, she added: “He was always taking the mickey, always having a laugh. We will miss him for the rest of our lives.”

Jake’s best friend Nathan Hooker, 18, who had been in the car at the time, was also at the hearing, along with several other of the student’s friends. He said: “Jake was selfless. He was one of the lads.

“He has grown up around driving. He was passionate about cars and loved anything to do with an engine.”

Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Sean McGovern said: “I am sure many of us have driven in such a way when we were that age and got away with it.

“But the clear message is that seatbelts save lives.”