Unlawful death ruling in Euston crash victim death inquests

Ruslan Trofimov and Annie Thompson died following a collision on the A1088 near Euston in August last year, Suffolk Coroners' Court heard on Friday. 

Mr Trofimov, 48 and from Norwich, was the driver of an Audi A4, which was travelling northwards towards Thetford at around 7pm on August 17.

The court heard that his car had entered the opposite side of the road when it collided with another vehicle, an Audi A6.

This vehicle was being driven by Anneka Thompson, 35, who was driving back from a camping holiday with her two children and the family dog.

Anneka Thompson was known to her friends and her family as Annie. Image: Becky Thompson (Image: Becky Thompson)

Earlier in the day, Mr Trofimov had been exchanging texts with his partner. Translations of these messages, originally written in Lithuanian, were read before the court.

At 8am that morning, she had written, “Baby, please don’t get drunk,” to which he had replied that he didn’t see any other option.

Later in the day, he texted: “Baby, I have to go,” and told her he loved her.

He later texted her asking her to forgive him, and that he had to “get out of this situation”.

“You will find the car,” he wrote.

His partner said that once, he had talked of taking his own life using a vehicle, but that this was mentioned several years previously.

The fatal crash happened on the A1088 at Euston. (Image: Google Maps)

She said that she believed that once the couple had talked, they would be able to resolve Mr Trofimov’s distress.

Mr Trofimov was observed by a fellow driver in the minutes before the crash, who noticed him driving erratically.

The driver came up behind Mr Trofimov, who had slowed down to 10 miles per hour when the speed limit was 40 miles per hour.

However, he then sped up considerably, “swerving all over the place”, crossing the white line indicating the edge of road and clipping verges.

The coroner ruled Ms Thompson's death was unlawful. (Image: Archant)

The concerned driver followed Mr Trofimov and called the police as he did so. At one point, Mr Trofimov accelerated suddenly, and the driver estimated that he was “easily doing 100 miles per hour”.

Other drivers, too, gave evidence that Mr Trofimov’s driving had concerned them, and that he had narrowly avoided collisions with three other vehicles.

The fatal crash occurred when Mr Trofimov approached a sharp bend in the road, with a witness estimating that he was driving 80 miles per hour in a 60 mile per hour zone.

Mr Trofimov’s vehicle entered the opposite side of the road and struck Ms Thompson’s car in a head-on collision.

Giving evidence in court on Friday, Forensic Collision Investigator PC Mark Heard said that Ms Thompson would not have had sufficient time to react.

He said that there was evidence that Mr Trofimov had tried to steer his car back to the correct side of the road, but that he had been unable to do so in time.

Mr Trofimov died at the scene. In the footwell of his car, several empty cans of alcoholic beverages were found.

A toxicology report showed that there was 284 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his system, meaning he was over three and a half times the legal limit for driving. There was also evidence of THC in his system.

Assistant coroner Peter Taheri found that Mr Trofimov had died as the result of a road traffic collision.

He said that, despite the texts to his partner earlier in the day, Mr Trofimov’s driving appeared to be “reckless”, rather than a clear attempt to take his own life.

He also referred to the evidence of PC Heard, which showed that Mr Trofimov had tried to swerve to avoid the crash “at the last minute”.

Ms Thompson was taken to Addenbrookes Hospital. She remained there for six weeks, until her death on September 29, having sustained a traumatic brain injury from the crash.

Mr Taheri ruled that Ms Thompson had been unlawfully killed.

All road users, Mr Taheri concluded, have a duty of care to other drivers.

Mr Trofimov had failed in this duty of care to Ms Thompson in the manner of his driving and his being so over the limit, and it was foreseeable that this action could give rise to her death.

Mr Taheri ended proceedings by offering his condolences to the loved ones of both Mr Trofimov and Ms Thompson.  

If you need urgent mental health support call NHS 111 and select option 2 or the Samaritans on 116 123. Both services are available 24 hours 7 days a week.