Anguish of rail death man (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Anguish of rail death man

11:58am Friday 22nd June 2007

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A man who was struck by a train just five months after the death of his stepson in a car crash committed suicide, an inquest jury ruled.

Geoffrey Crucefix, 61, of Ramsbury Walk, Trowbridge, suffered multiple injuries when he stood in front of a two-carriage passenger train in Trowbridge in October.

The retired toolmaker, who had worked at Avon Rubber in Melksham, was devastated after his 23-year-old stepson, Matthew Bromley, died when his car was hit by a lorry near Chilcompton, Somerset, last May.

Wiltshire coroner David Masters told jurors at the inquest at Trowbridge Town Hall on Wednesday that Mr Crucefix had been a keen churchgoer and had run a local youth club until his death.

Mr Masters said: "He was a man who was well respected in this town."

On October 12, the jury heard, Mr Crucefix crashed his car into a parked Vauxhall Astra in Dursley Road, Trowbridge.

Richard Larkham, of Heather Shaw, Trowbridge, was sitting in the parked car at the time.

He told the inquest how he had seen a silver Proton approaching slowly towards their car before it hit.

The driver, who was later identified as Mr Crucefix, drove off. Mr Larkham and his wife Tracy, who had been in a nearby shop at the time, later saw the vehicle, with paintwork scratches from their car, further down the road.

When she tried to take the driver's insurance details Mrs Larkham noticed he smelt of alcohol, and as she attempted to stop him driving away Mr Crucefix bit her on the arm.

Police were called and they found the car parked outside his home. As his house was being searched a report came over the police radio that a man's body had been found on the nearby railway line.

A toxicology report taken from Mr Crucefix after his death showed that he had been two-and-a-half times over the drink-drive limit.

Despite no signs of a suicide note, a search of his home later provided evidence that Mr Crucefix was having financial problems, with his pension just being enough to cover the cost of his rent.

Mr Masters said: "He had severe financial problems which would no doubt have been exacerbated if he was to lose his licence and not be able to drive a car."

Mary Griffiths, who had been driving the train, told the coroner how she spotted Mr Crucefix from around 300 yards away and that he had stood facing away as the train approached, making no attempt to move.

Following the verdict his daughter Amanda Tayler, 33, of Nuneaton, said: "It is probably what we expected but it is still very difficult.

"I am very surprised with the whole alcohol situation because it hadn't been mentioned before then.

"He used to go out for a drink with friends every week but he was always very careful with getting someone to drive. He was our dad at the end of the day."

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