A 14-year-old boy was knocked down and killed by a car as he played a deadly game of chicken on a busy road after getting drunk with his pals, an inquest has heard.
Shane Jeavons had been drinking lager in a park with his friends before he was mown down.
An inquest heard that Shane suffered from an eye condition but was not wearing his glasses when he was fatally injured on September 9, 2011.
Driver Jermaine Willmott was driving below the 30mph speed limit as he travelled along Lode Road, Solihull, West Mids., but was unable to avoid hitting the teenager, experts ruled.
Mr Willmott told the hearing at Birmingham Coroner’s Court last Friday: “All of a sudden a shadow came from my right and, boom, something hit my car.
“I pulled over, got out and saw the situation I was in. I just remember a girl asking me to call his dad. I said: ‘No, we need to call an ambulance’.”
Shane was rushed to Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham but died later that night.
Blood alcohol tests revealed the Lode Heath Secondary School pupil, from Solihull, was over the drink-drive limit.
West Midlands Police Detective Constable Amy Walker told the inquest Shane’s friends told her he was “drunk” after boozing in Hermitage Park in the town.
They left the park at about 9.45pm and Shane decided to “play chicken” on Lode Lane, she added.
Asked by the coroner to recount what she was told by Shane’s friends, Det Con Walker said: “He was running from one side of the road to another on his own while the cars were coming.
“He ran around a tree and didn’t look when he ran across the road.”
Collision investigator Pc Mark Weaver said it appeared Shane had left his friends on the pavement, “sprinted” across the road and was returning when he was hit by Mr Willmott’s car.
And Pc Weaver told the inquest the number of children risking their lives in games of chicken was a growing problem.
He said: “I have heard of the game and, sadly, have dealt with some deaths, with the last one being in 2012.
“The majority of people who play this game are children.”
Fellow collision investigator Pc Christopher Blout added: “It has occurred all through my career and is mainly played by youths.
“We have been in touch with Solihull local authority and have a meeting set up to discuss the education of youths and children in schools.”
Recording a verdict of accidental death, Deputy Coroner Sarah Ormond Walshe concluded the lager Shane had drunk and his failure to wear his glasses had contributed to his death.
Mrs Ormond Walshe added: “Police have told me of another fatality involving a game called chicken.
“We have heard there is an education programme that is going to be discussed at a future meeting about educating children about this game.”
Verdict: Accidental death.
sad:(