Aaron Nordass-Lacey, 21, had drugs and alcohol in his system at time of crash, inquest hears

Aaron Nordass-Lacey was riding a bike with no lights in the dark and was not wearing a cycle helmet when tragedy struck in October 2016, Dorset Coroner Rachael Griffin was told.

Aaron, a carer, was cycling to buy a skateboard in Christchurch with his friend, Reece Guppy, when the incident took place on a busy dual carriageway section of the A35 Barrack Road, near the Bailey Bridge at around 7.10pm on October 13 2016.

In a statement read to the Bournemouth inquest, Mr Guppy said he was cycling ahead of Mr Nordass-Lacey in the direction of Christchurch when he realised his friend was not behind him.

He said he turned around to see a car with its hazard lights on and saw Aaron in the road.

The inquest was told the cyclist was attempting to cross the dual carriageway when he slipped and fell into the path of an oncoming car as he reached the central reservation.

Mr Guppy said they had both been drinking beer earlier in the day and that he had also seen Mr Nordass-Lacey take Ecstasy at his flat in Christchurch Road, Boscombe. He said they had smoked cannabis on the previous evening.

Mr Nordass-Lacey’s GP, Dr John Bray, said his patient had abused drugs in the past.

Home Office forensic pathologist Dr Basil Purdue said Mr Nordass-Lacey died of head and chest injuries and that the catastrophic head injuries were “non-survivable.”

He said a cycle helmet “would not have made the slightest difference” and that the young man would have become unconscious immediately and known nothing about what happened after impact. He had a blood alcohol level of 66 - the legal limit for driving is 80 - and he had MDMA (Ecstasy) and cannabis in his system.

Giving evidence, Mr Nordass-Lacey’s mother, Julia Lacey, said her son was “a typical boy” who was caring and generous. She added: “I was proud of my boy, very proud. Aaron was very well-liked and respected. He worked hard.”

The inquest continues.