A 21-YEAR-OLD driver died after a minor lapse of judgement led him to lose control of his car, an inquest heard.

A 21-year-old driver died after a “minor lapse of judgement” led him to lose control of his car, an inquest heard.

Andrew Earnest Graham, of Lime Grove, St Neots, suffered fatal injuries on the A1 northbound on July, 23 last year when his car spun across the carriageway as it went round a bend at Southoe.

Witness Andrew McCulloch, of Peterborough Road, Whittlesey, who was driving behind Mr Graham at the time, told an inquest that the blue BMW 318i was going no more than 70 miles per hour and appeared to be driving normally.

But he said the car seemed to “drift” onto the grass verge into the central reservation on the second bend before spinning anti-clockwise across both lanes and ploughing into a tree at about 8am.

Collision investigator, PC Peter Bimson, confirmed Mr Graham was travelling at between 65 to 85 miles per hour, weather conditions were good and the road was dry.

He said that following investigations slight defects were found on the suspension of the car which may have contributed to Mr Graham’s inability to regain control.

But he said it was more likely Mr Grahams “flinch” reaction to clipping the curb on the central reservation led him to over compensate by performing a harsh left-steer which sent the car into a spin.

Assistant Deputy Coroner Sam Bass said there was no-one else involved in the accident and all toxicology tests were clear.

“The road surface and the weather was good. Sadly this was a minor lapse of judgement or error,” he said.

He recorded that Mr Graham died as a result of accidental death.

The inquest, held on Thursday (April 5), heard that Mr Graham had been travelling from his home in Eaton Socon to work at Vindis in Huntingdon.

A second witness, Christopher Reeve, also of Eaton Socon, said Mr Graham had driven past him travelling at a reasonable speed, but that after losing control the vehicle “slid like it was on ice” across the carriageway.

The 21-year-old, described by family and friends as a “loveable rogue”, was due to become a father for the first time at the time of death.

He was a football-mad Arsenal fan who became an uncle for the first time the day before he died.