A WELL-known Marlow man was killed in a traffic accident when he possibly became distracted, veered onto the opposite side of the road and hit an oncoming car, an inquest heard.

Cyril John Hammatt, 74, of Hillside Road died in the two-car smash on the B482, near Booker, on April 9 this year.

Mr Hammatt, a retired French polisher and member the Marlow Royal British Legion, was air-lifted to Wycombe Hospital but died from his injuries.

Police suspected that a heart attack had caused him to drive onto the wrong side of the single carriageway road, but a post mortem examination did not prove this.

Richard Hulett, the coroner for Buckinghamshire told the inquest on Wednesday: "There was no medical evidence to support an attack, no faults in either vehicle and he was alone in the car.

"The best speculation is distraction many people have done this."

The head-on collision seriously injured mother-of-two Rebecca Barney, 28, of Brinnal Court, Stokenchurch and her two children, Joshua, six, and Lewis, seven.

Mrs Barney said: "I was driving along at around 40 to 45 mph. I suddenly saw a blue car driving towards me on my side of the road. The next thing I remember is my car was in the hedge and the blue car was on its roof."

Mrs Barney received serious leg injuries in the crash.

Lewis suffered a fractured pelvis and internal injuries. He has had to undergo two serious operations since the crash but is now recovering well.

Joshua suffered serious bruising but was released from hospital the same day.

Mr Hammatt left behind his wife, June, and sons, Neil and John. The family did not wish to attend the inquest.

Mrs Hammatt told the Free Press yesterday: "We were invited to go to the inquest but we wanted to put it all behind us. It was a terrible thing and life is very different now."

Mrs Hammatt said she was sorry for the Barney family's suffering but could not accept responsibility for what happened.

She added: "That's unfortunate, and I am very sorry about it, but there was nothing we could do.

"We don't know what happened and no one ever will. I feel for them, but compared to their suffering, I have lost my husband."

Amersham Coroner's Court heard that Mr Hammatt's blue Nissan Micra drifted onto the wrong side of the road before it collided with a red Fiat Punto, flipped over and landed on its roof.

Conditions were clear and dry on the day of the accident.

PC Stephen Moffatt, the officer investigating the crash, initially thought Mr Hammatt had suffered a heart attack at the wheel but eventually concluded that distraction, for example, reaching for something in his glove box, was probably the reason for the crash.

He said: "The blue car was travelling quite normally before it moved across the road and struck the Fiat. Both cars were travelling at a unexceptional speed."