MYSTERY continues to surround the death of a “fun-loving and caring” teenager who died after a “freak and tragic” crash.

Ethan Swallow, 19, from Bursledon died in hospital after crashing his BMW 2 Series on the A3(M) near Waterlooville.

The salesman, who worked for TY, the makers of Beanie Babies, lost control of his car and it smashed sideways into a barrier.

At an inquest this week, a coroner admitted the exact cause of the accident, on January 4, was still unknown.

The coroner heard that Mr Swallow had no drink or drugs in his system, and neither his car nor the road had any defects.

Police were unable to determine the speed of the car, but said Mr Swallow was likely to be driving within the 70mph limit.

Phone records suggested Mr Swallow could have used his mobile in the minutes before the crash, which officers believe took place around 10.40pm.

PC Tony Clifford said Mr Swallow had sent a Whatsapp message to a friend at 10.31am. He asked if his friend wanted to play on a games console after he had returned home from a pub trip with friends in Petersfield.

His friend replied a minute later, declining the offer as he had work in the morning.

PC Clifford said the message had been sent in the “immediate minutes before the crash” and it was possible that “distraction or inattention” could have led to the loss of control of the vehicle.

However Mr Swallow’s father, Mark, the chairman of TY’s UK distributions, told the inquest that the friend had confirmed the texts had been sent before his son had left the pub.

He added that the scene of the crash was around ten minutes from the pub – matching the time frame put forward by the family.

PC Clifford said the road was wet at the time of the crash and he could “not discount” the possibility of a slow moving vehicle or animal causing Mr Swallow to swerve.

However he said there were no witnesses to the crash and “no evidence” of an animal being hit.

The closest record from the scene came from Andre Morgan, who came across Mr Swallow’s vehicle in the minutes after the crash.

Mr Morgan went to the aid of the injured Mr Swallow before phoning the emergency services.

Mr Swallow was extricated from the vehicle and rushed to Southampton General Hospital after fracturing a lower vertebrae.

Pathologist Sanjay Jogai said the injury proved fatal due as it caused compression on his central nervous system.

Coroner Grahame Short concluded his death was due to a road traffic collision and added that Mr Swallow may have ben distracted just before the crash occurred.

Speaking after the inquest, dad Mark described the crash as a “freak accident”. He added that his son was “hardworking”, “fun loving” and “caring”.