A SPEEDING teenager who died when his high performance car crashed into a tree on the A35 Christchurch by-pass was thought to have been travelling at more than 100mph before tragedy struck.

Steven Parsons suffered multiple fatal injuries after losing control of his modified 1.9 litre Seat Leon Cupra near the Burton turn-off on May 22 this year.

A Bournemouth inquest heard yesterday how the 19-year-old ferry ticket sales operator from Old Milton Road, New Milton, had flouted the 70mph speed limit on the same busy stretch of road just three days earlier.

His friend, motor mechanic Samuel Broomfield, who drives a 2.4 litre Audi A4, recalled how he and Mr Parsons had been on their way to Hengistbury Head to take photographs of their cars when the high-speed collision happened.

Describing Mr Parsons’ silver car, he said: “Steve had spent quite a lot of money on it; lowering it and fitting new wheels.”

Mr Broomfield, from Clive Road, Christchurch, told the Coroner’s Court how he had been a passenger in Mr Parsons’ car on May 19.

He added: “Steve took me for a trip down the Christchurch by-pass; his driving was fast and a bit aggressive. He was getting up to speeds of 110 to 120mph and driving up close to cars without braking.

“Steve was flashing his lights, pretty much ordering them to get out of the way. It made me feel uneasy and embarrassed.”

On May 22 Mr Parsons said he didn’t know the way to Hengistbury Head and agreed to follow Mr Broomfield’s car.

Mr Broomfield said: “Steve was close behind me, then he just put his foot down and undertook me before undertaking two or three cars in front. I guess he was doing around 100 to 110mph; it was nowhere near what the car was capable of.

“He was accelerating flat out. Then I saw his car swerving sideways and a cloud of dust. It happened so fast.”

Eyewitness Paul Butler from St Alban’s Road, Bournemouth said Mr Parsons had been driving recklessly and estimated his speed at “easily over 100mph.”

Michael Fountaine from Broadstone recalled how he had suddenly seen Mr Parsons in his mirror, adding: “That was a tremendous shock; I was expecting a glancing blow.

“He was alongside me and looked over towards me. As he passed I breathed a sigh of relief.”

No defects were found on the vehicle and Hampshire police senior crash investigator Stanley Gibbs estimated that it had been travelling at between 78 and 93mph, depending on which gear Mr Parsons had been in at the time.

He said: “It was a very high speed impact. The car roof was wrapped around the tree trunk and the engine ejected.”

He compared Mr Parsons’ “cavalier” driving manner as “akin to using a public road as a raceway with a total disregard for all those in close proximity.”

Mr Gibbs added: “One could speculate on the exuberance of a young man, exercising his passion for motor cars and speed – a toxic mix when not carried out in controlled circumstances.

“At high speed you only have to do something instinctive; Mr Parsons was a young man with good reactions and knew what he was doing.”

But investigations showed that the crash had happened after he encroached onto the central reservation, over-steered at high speed and demolished a metal fence before ploughing into a mature sycamore tree. Mr Gibbs added: “He turned more sharply than he intended to. There was no evidence of emergency braking.”

A Dorset police spokesman confirmed yesterday that a 19-year-old Christchurch man, arrested following the A35 crash, had been released without charge.

Recording that Mr Parsons had died as a result of an accident, East Dorset Coroner Sheriff Payne added: “He was entirely responsible for his own death. It was extremely fortunate that on-one else was injured or died as a result of his actions.”