Doctor Guy Powell killed crossing unlit section of A326

Consultant psychiatrist Guy Powell, who walked with a stick, was crossing an unlit section of the A326 Marchwood Bypass when he was hit by two vehicles.

He was walking to a bus stop on Hythe Road, which runs parallel to the A326, when the accident occurred on March 6 2023.

It happened near the entrance to Marchwood Priory Hospital, which is more than 700m from the nearest pedestrian crossing.

Dr Guy Powell was crossing the A326 outside the entrance to Marchwood Priory Hospital (Image: Google)

Speaking at the end of the inquest, coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp said: "I remain concerned at the lack of lighting outside the hospital and the fact the crossing is so far."

Dr Powell, 68, of Devizes Road in Salisbury, was hit by a Volkswagen van and thrown into the path of a Suzuki Swift.

READ MORE: Man dies in Marchwood Bypass near Priory Clinic

The van was being driven by James Percy, who told Winchester Coroner's Court: "I got a flash on the right-hand side of my vision and then next thing I knew I'd hit something. It all happened in a split second."

The Suzuki was being driven by Ellie-Marie Brown, who stopped when it was safe to do so and saw her car had been damaged.

She told the inquest: "It never crossed my mind it was a person I had hit. I was told later that someone else had hit him, which caused him to be pushed onto my side of the road."

The inquest was held at Winchester's Coroner's Court (Image: Newsquest.)

Another driver, Claire Bidworth, said she saw what appeared to be a frail old man, with vehicles passing either side of him.

"All of a sudden I heard a loud bang and knew it was the sound of the male being hit by a car."

READ MORE: Tributes to 'loving husband and father' killed in crash on A326 Marchwood Bypass

Accident investigator Michael Toy said the casualty was wearing dark-coloured clothing, which would have provided "little contrast" to his surroundings.

He added that Mr Percy would have had less than a second to detect and respond to Dr Powell's presence on the road. Miss Brown would have had only 1.2 seconds.

Mr Toy described the accident as "unavoidable".

Summarising the evidence, Mrs Rhodes-Kemp said: "It was dark, there was no lighting, the nearest crossing was some distance from the hospital, and you had to cross the road to get to a bus stop."

The coroner recorded a conclusion that Dr Powell died as the result of a road traffic collision.