A CORONER looking into the death of teenager Jack Slater McKenzie has given a narrative verdict.

Jack, 18, was the front seat passenger of a Vauxhall Corsa when it was involved in a crash with a John Deere tractor and Fiat Punto on the B4348 near Peterchurch on September 3, 2010.

This week, deputy coroner for Herefordshire Roland Wooderson lead a four-day inquest into Jack's death, hearing evidence from police, paramedics, doctors and those involved in the crash.

The inquest heard evidence from forensic scientists whose tests revealed that the driver of the Corsa, Jack's close friend Joel Jones, had traces of cocaine and cannabis in his system.  A breath test for alcohol was negative.

Ceri Taylor, one of a number of forensic experts to submit evidence, said it was likely Joel was experiencing the 'come-down' effects of cocaine but it is not known if he was under the influence while driving.

A doctor giving evidence this morning said there was nothing to suggest Joel was under the influence of intoxicants and he answered all questions put to him.

This afternoon Mr Wooderson returned a narrative verdict.

He ruled that Jack died after the Corsa he was travelling in first hit a bailer being towed by a tractor. That collision left the Corsa on its side.

The Corsa was then struck by a Punto, which had been travelling in the same direction, and it was that second collision that resulted in Jack's death.

See next week's Hereford Times for more.

A narrative verdict records the circumstances of a person's death. They were introduced in England in 2004.