AN INQUEST has heard that a gym instructor who fled the scene of a fatal accident could not have avoided hitting the pedestrian who died in the incident.

Steve Donoghue, described by his son Wayne as a ‘man who would do anything for anyone’ died after being hit by a car driven by John Murphy on Hallfields Road in Orford last summer.

Warrington Coroners Court heard last week the 54-year-old, who fled from the scene of the accident, could not have avoided a collision with Mr Donoghue.

The court heard that Mr Donoghue, of Poplars Avenue in Orford, was seen falling into Hallfields Road by a witness near to the junction with Smith Drive shortly before midnight on Sunday, August 9 2015.

While he was lying motionless in the road, Mr Murphy was driving his blue Mercedes CLK230 along the street in the direction of Orford Green and hit Mr Donoghue, 58.

Mr Murphy then turned his car around and returned to the scene of the accident, told a woman to call the emergency services and then fled the scene.

Warrington Guardian:

He handed himself in at Warrington Police Station the next day and was sentenced to a 16-week prison sentence suspended for a year in March after admitting failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident to the police.

The St Peter’s Way resident was also banned from driving for a year, fined £165 and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

During the afternoon of Sunday August 9, Mr Murphy had frequented pubs in the town centre – the amount of alcohol he had consumed differed between various court hearings and again in last week’s inquest, which states he had drunk two-and-a-quarter pints.

He went home at around 7pm and later went to bed but couldn’t sleep and went for a drive.

But on Wednesday August 3, an inquest into Mr Donoghue’s death at Warrington Coroners Court heard that Murphy could not have avoided the accident.

Forensic collision investigator PC Kevin Sweeney led a reconstruction of the accident, which found that due to a bend in the road and trees in Orford Park blocking light from streetlamps Murphy would have only been able to see Mr Donoghue from around 25m away.

Witness accounts of the incident showed differing opinions of how fast Murphy was travelling, but Cheshire Police said he was travelling at or below the speed limit of 30mph – PC Sweeney told the court that a vehicle travelling more than 21mph could not have avoided the collision.

Toxicology reports found that Mr Donoghue, a voluntary worker with Warrington Borough Council and former car mechanic who had five children and five adopted children, had a blood alcohol level around three times the drink drive limit.

Alan Moore, the assistant coroner for Cheshire, recorded a verdict of death by multiple injuries as a result of a road traffic collision.