A 20-YEAR-OLD man died when his work van crashed into the back of a parked lorry in a lay-by between Usk and Newport, an inquest heard yesterday.

Robert Charles Smith was a passenger travelling southbound on the A449 on the afternoon of September 9 last year in a Ford Transit van driven by his colleague Anthony Davies, Gwent Coroner’s Court heard.

Around 12 miles north of the Coldra roundabout, a driver on the opposite side of the road, Desmond Knight, reported seeing the van crash headlong into the back of a parked lorry, when the rest of the dual carriageway was “unusually quiet”.

PC Paul Hawkins of Gwent Police Forensic Collisions Investigation Unit, based at Newport Central police station, said the van was tracked on CCTV from Monmouth and had not been speeding. He said there appeared to be no fault with the van, nothing wrong with the road and nothing to suggest the driver took evasive action, rather the van appeared to have “gently drifted” off the road.

The lorry was parked well within the lay-by limits, said PC Hawkins.

The lorry driver was sat in the passenger’s seat when he was thrown forward by the force of the impact.

A post-mortem examination found Mr Smith, from Brackla, Bridgend, died as a result of multiple internal injuries and a fractured skull and spine. Mr Davies’ injuries were so bad he cannot remember what happened. Coroner David Bowen recorded a verdict of accidental death.