THE father of a rally co-driver killed in "freak accident" during a race in Sicily says he blames no-one for his son's death.
Rising star Gareth Roberts, known to friends as Jaffa, of Bronwydd Arms, Carmarthen, died when his Peugeot 207, driven by racing partner Irishman Craig Breen, crashed into a safety barrier at the side of the track in the eighth stage of the Targa Florio, on June 16 this year.
At an inquest into Gareth's death, held at Llanelli Town Hall, his dad Michael Roberts, said his son had grown up on the rallying circuit and died doing what he loved.
"I have no concerns, or attach any blame to anyone, in respect of this accident," Mr Roberts said in a statement. "He was living his dream and accepted the risks."
Gareth's racing partner since 2009, Mr Breen, was not at the inquest but provided a statement.
In it he said the car under-steered on a fast left-hand bend, resulting in a high-speed collision.
After they had come to a stop, it said "I asked Gareth if he was okay but had no response".
Mr Breen, who had raced with Gareth since 2009, added he raised the alarm with race stewards, who radioed for an ambulance.
The coroner heard the authorities in Sicily had not provided crash investigation reports for the inquest. In a post mortem examination carried out at Glangwili Hospital on June 21, Dr John Murphy, found Gareth had died of multiple injuries as a result of a road traffic accident.
Coroner Mark Layton recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Speaking after the inquest, Mr Roberts, said he believed Gareth would have won more world championships.
"Fair play to Craig, this year he's carried a lot on his shoulders and he's just won the SWRC World Championship this year again and that would tell you that Gareth would have been with him without a shadow of a doubt," he said.
"You can't blame the sport, I think it's been a freak accident. I've seen Gareth and Craig come out of horrendous crashed and there's not a mark on them.
"That's the hardest thing to accept, I've seen him come out of vehicles that were ten times worse condition than what it was."
↧