A HOUSE full of partying teenagers on a Friday night, a disagreement that ended in a slap around the face. Four friends decided it was safe to drive home.
Dale Carlier, 18, was killed after he lost control of his car along Western Road, Billericay. His elder brother and two friends were also injured in the accident.
An inquest on Thursday revealed the tragic chain of events preceding the accident, which happened at 1.50am on Saturday, April 21, just three miles from the Carlier family home in Hutton.
The court heard how Dale, from Coram Green, had been drinking at the house party in Billericay, but had "fully intended" to get a taxi home.
However, an altercation took place at the party between Dale and a man aged in his 30s.
After the minor assault, Dale left the party along with his brother Niall, 20, and friends Tom Balchen, 20, and 17-year-old David Franklin.
A routine toxicology report found Dale to be nearly one and a half times over the drink drive limit, a "moderate degree of intoxication", according to PC Steve Perrett, forensic collision investigator, but one which would have impaired his balance and reduced his alertness.
Mr Perrett had attended the accident scene, not far from the junction of Western Road and London Road. No other vehicles were involved in the accident, he told the inquest.
The court heard there were no defects in Dale's black Ford Fiesta or the road and that conditions were "good".
Western Road, a residential road notorious for speeding drivers, has a speed limit of 30mph.
Mr Perrett told the inquest that Dale, who was not wearing a seat belt, had been driving at a speed between 50 and 60mph when he lost control of the vehicle.
Travelling south towards London Road, the car spun in a clockwise direction with the driver's door taking the full brunt of the sideways impact with a brick pillar on a driveway and a metal gate.
The collision halted the spin and overturned the teenager's car. A tree was also uprooted in the crash and a power cable was damaged, knocking out electricity to the street lights.
The car came to a rest on the driver's side.
"[Dale] had begun to lose control early on and was trying to correct it, but there was just not room to do that," said Mr Perrett, adding that such an impact at that speed was "rarely survivable".
Mr Perrett said the seat belt would have had "no effect" had it been worn.
The passenger in the front seat, Mr Franklin, had been wearing his seat belt, the court heard.
The rear offside passenger had also been wearing his seat belt and Mr Perrett said he was "not sure" about whether the seat belt on the rear near side had been worn.
While the police investigation findings were read out, the Carlier family, comprising mum Sharon, dad Adam and Dale's grandma, listened in silence, fighting back the tears.
Sitting at the opposite end of the table in the hearing room on Thursday afternoon was Dale's natural father, Shaun Purkiss, from Chelmsford.
"The character of Dale was such that, had the altercation not taken place at this party, he would never have got in the car. His intention was to get a taxi home," said Mrs Carlier, after hearing the police findings.
"I just want the court to be aware of his state of mind."
Dale, a former Brentwood County High School pupil, was studying Public Services at Chelmsford College with the view of becoming a policeman.
A post-mortem examination found the cause of death to be multiple injuries.
Recording her verdict, coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray said: "I have come to the conclusion that this was a tragic accident.
"Dale Jordan Carlier died as the result of an accident. It was a tragic, tragic accident and it's very sad.
"It's quite clear that he had, earlier in the evening, been intending not to drive, but there we are, these things happen. He was a much-loved young man and I would like to again express the court's sympathy to you all upon his loss."
Essex Police investigated the man involved in the altercation with Dale at the party, but no further action was taken against him as it was deemed "not in the public interest".
