Tyre warning after teen's death

The coroner said Aaron Dixon had a "great future" ahead

A coroner has warned drivers to check their tyres regularly after an inquest heard how severely under-inflated tyres caused an 18-year-old's death.

Aaron Dixon, from Corwen, Denbighshire, lost control of his Citreon Saxo on a bend and collided with a bus.

Investigations showed his rear tyres recorded pressures of six pounds per square inch (psi) and 13 psi against a recommended level of 30.

The coroner said it should be "a lesson to us all". Verdict accidental death.

Mr Gittins, deputy coroner for north east and central Wales, added: "Perhaps its a lesson to us all that we should be checking these things more often than we do and I include myself in that.

"Clearly it has such an important effect on the way a car handles."

Insurance write-off

He said Aaron, who was a promising kickboxer with several tournament wins and also played rugby locally, was a "very capable young man with a great future ahead of him".

The Denbigh inquest heard how Mr Dixon had passed his driving test a few months earlier and bought the car for £500.

It was a former category C insurance write-off which had been repaired.

The inquest heard Mr Dixon, who had just started as an apprentice bricklayer, had been concerned about the safety of the car after the "back end" appeared to give out several times and had taken the car back to be repaired more than once.

On 29 December, 2007 he, his brother, and their girlfriends were travelling from Corwen to Llangollen on a wet and windy day.

Air ambulance

Although there was no suggestion Mr Dixon was speeding he lost control of the car on a right-hand bend and hit the X94 bus travelling from Wrexham to Barmouth.

Mr Dixon was cut from the wreckage by firefighters and an air ambulance was called but he died before reaching hospital.

Mr Dixon's girlfriend, Lowri Wilson, spent a week in hospital with various injuries and his brother Anton and girlfriend Gemma were also injured.

A post mortem examination revealed he died from multiple major injuries.

There was no evidence the Arriva bus driver, Ian Butters, had done anything wrong.

In written statements several passengers recalled he had been driving at a safe speed when they heard a "big bang".

The inquest heard Mr Dixon's mother Gail had been concerned about the safety of the car but investigations revealed no mechanical defects.

However, Pc Robert Davies of North Wales Police's collision unit, said both rear tyres were "significantly under inflated".

He said some pressure may have been lost when the car lost control but not to the level of the final readings.

Speaking outside court, solicitor Peter Hughes said the family accepted the verdict that Mr Dixon's death had been a "tragic accident".