A 30-YEAR-OLD former Craven student died of "traumatic" injuries in a road accident, which also left three other young people hurt.

Shaun Phillip Howard, from Litton Road, off Fell Lane, Keighley, was killed in the late night crash just outside Laycock on May 24 last year.

He had been with three of his friends and was driving the Fiat Punto, which had been bought by a friend earlier that day.

Of the three other young men who were passengers in the car when it crashed, two were left seriously injured.

Emergency services officially recorded Mr Howard as being dead at the scene at 11.43pm that night, following attempts to resuscitate him.

An inquest in Bradford heard statements from the car's passengers, as well as from police officers and members of the public who went to help the casualties.

The hearing heard that Mr Howard, also known by his nickname "Shaunyboy", was three and a half times over the legal drink drive limit at the time of the accident shortly after 11pm, and there was also evidence he had taken cannabis and cocaine.

Keith Reyner, a collision investigator for West Yorkshire Police, said an examination of the crash scene indicated Mr Howard had been driving along Braithwaite Village Road towards its junction with Braithwaite Road.

Mr Reyner told assistant coroner Mary Burke that Mr Howard appeared to lose control of the car on the bend just before the junction.

He said the car hit the kerb, went over a grass verge and across Braithwaite Road before crashing into a tree and a fence.

"The speed limit on this road was 30-mph and the speed to be able to get round that bend would theoretically have been around 30-mph," he said.

"My conclusion is that he was travelling well over 30-mph at the time. The marks on the road show he attempted the bend but lost control and started to yaw.

"There were no marks to show he was braking before the car left the road, and there were no defects to the vehicle which could have caused the crash.

"The road was dry, and there was nothing wrong with its surface."

Both Mr Reyner and investigating police officer detective constable Sarah Banks confirmed the amount of alcohol in Mr Howard's blood, along with the cannabis and cocaine, were likely to have harmed his ability to drive safely.

DC Banks said CCTV from the camera of a house in Braithwaite Village picked up the blue Fiat Punto driving past, apparently at "excessive speed" shortly before the accident.

She said Mr Howard had 295 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his body at the time, compared with the legal limit of 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

"I don't think the effect of that can be underestimated, it would have had a significant impact," she added.

A statement from Mr Howard's aunt Aldyth Storey, read out by the coroner's official at the inquest, said Mr Howard had been a mild natured, much-loved young man with a good sense of humour.

He was born in Keighley and later lived in Silsden, attending Hothfield Junior School then South Craven School.

He was single, and had not been working when he died, though was previously employed as a warehouse worker.

Ms Burke offered her condolences to Mr Howard's family. In conclusion she said: "Shaun died due to traumatic injuries as a result of a road traffic collision."