AN inquest into the death of a plumber has ruled he died from multiple injuries following a crash last year.

Ewen Lever, 29, was on his way to a job on December 9 when his van drifted into the path of a Royal Mail lorry, killing him instantly.

The father-of-two was driving round a bend on the A361 at Signet, near Burford, when the van crossed onto the wrong side of the road, colliding head-on with the lorry.

At his inquest, coroner Darren Salter heard that a partially eaten sandwich was found on the passenger seat of the van.

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Mr Salter said: “The vehicle crossed the road into the path of an oncoming Royal Mail lorry.

“We do not know why that happened.

“In this case there was a partially eaten sandwich but we cannot say anything more than that.

“When met with the possibility of driver distraction or driver error, we cannot say why Ewen’s vehicle crossed onto the wrong side of the road with such a devastating impact.

“It takes a second of inattention for something like this to happen, it is very sad indeed.”

The accident resulted in a three-way collision after a mother driving her children in a red Land Rover Discovery ploughed into the back of the Royal Mail lorry.

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The inquest heard how the family in the Land Rover was unharmed in the collision, while the Royal Mail lorry driver was trapped in his delivery truck before firefighters cut him free, and he was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.

In a statement to the inquest, pathologist professor Ian Roberts confirmed that Mr Lever, from Swindon, died from multiple injuries secondary to brain damage, having been certified dead at 8am at the scene.

The coroner ruled that Mr Lever had died as a result of a road traffic collision.

Mr Lever’s widow, Abby, paid tribute to her husband, calling him ‘one in a million’.

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She added: “Ewen was the most amazing husband and daddy, to me and our girls, Ayla and Poppy.

“He has left the biggest hole in all of our lives.

“Everyone who had the honour of knowing Ewen will forever miss his loud, cheeky voice and his huge kind heart.

“I have been so grateful for all the support I have been given over the last four months.

“Ewen’s legacy will live on amongst us all.

“My husband, our world, our rock, really is one in a million.”

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The company Mr Lever worked for, Scitus Services, set up an online fundraising page to support his widow and two young daughters.

The page has raised almost £34,000.

The page said: “Ewen left home to begin a normal day at work and tragically died due to a road traffic accident.

“Nobody should ever have to experience loss like this.

“We would like to raise some money to support Ewen’s wife, Abby and two young children, Ayla and Poppy through this difficult time.”

The fundraiser can be found on JustGiving.