Accrington man killed after walking on M65 slip road

Wojciech Trzebinski, 34, from Accrington [1], was killed on November 21 at the Burnley Barracks junction on the M65. The father moved to the UK in 2013, and he worked as an engineer and was a keen fundraiser, regularly engaging in Polish Heritage days and charity [2] events. Coroner [3] Emma Mather read out a statement provided by the family.

It read: "He was kind, generous and hardworking, and I was very proud to be his brother. "He was a wonderful man, a kind, family man who loved his daughter very much, and this is very difficult for us as a family. "He had constant contact with his daughter, who would chat through video calls, and he would visit her several times a year."

In the evening of November 21, he met with his work colleagues in Burnley, starting at the Big Window, before going out to Palazzo for a meal, and finishing in Wetherspoons. Wojciech was asked to leave the pub, and his work colleagues saw him stumbling through the town, having consumed alcohol on the night out. His alcohol level was recorded as more than 200mg/dc, which Ms Maher said showed that he was not cognisant of his surroundings.

Alison Shenton had been driving along the M65 at around 9.50pm on the day of Wojciech's death, and noticed a man dressed in all black walking on the hard shoulder of the motorway. The driver of a vehicle which was in collision with Wojciech, Charles Knowles, said that he had joined the motorway, checking it was safe, when a man appeared in front of his vehicle, which resulted in the collision. Wojciech was thrown into the air and landed in the first lane of the carriageway, where he was hit by a second vehicle.

Ms Mather said: "I accept the evidence that they did not expect someone to be on the slip road of a motorway. "He was wearing dark clothing, it was dark outside, he could not have been easily observable, and the response time was one to two seconds from when the object became observable. "There was insufficient time to perform evasive action.

The evidence showed that they tried to swerve and avoid a collision, but they did strike him lying prone in the carriageway. "There is insufficient time for them to avoid this collision."

She called the emergency services, and paramedics arrived at the scene, where they confirmed that Wojciech had suffered unsurvivable injuries and was confirmed dead at the scene.

Ms Maher said: "Wojciech Trzebinski died from multiple injuries consistent with a road traffic collision. "He was walking along the slip road at J5 in the same direction as traffic and was struck by a vehicle, causing him to enter the main motorway and carriageway when he was struck by a second vehicle. "At the time of the collision, it was dark, there were no street lights, he was wearing dark clothing, and it was not possible for the collision to be avoided.

"He had consumed alcohol and it likely impaired his judgement."

She returned the cause of death as a road traffic collision.

References

^ Accrington (www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk)
^ charity (www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk)
^ Coroner (www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk)
^ 'You will always live in our hearts': Family pay touching tribute to dad (www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk)
^ Inquest opened into death of 2-year-old girl from Blackburn (www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk)