A BBC actor was killed in a crash after a speeding driver "lost control" and crashed into a tree, an inquest heard. Reiss Jarvis suffered multiple "unsurvivable" injuries as a result of the smash in Delph, Oldham.
The 21-year-old was a front-seat passenger in a Mazda 3 when it careered off the country road and hit a tree before plunging down an embankment. Reiss was pronounced dead at the scene while the driver, Karl Young, was taken to hospital where he later died.
Mr Young, 34, lost control of the vehicle while travelling at "excessive speed" along a remote and unlit stretch of road at about 8.40pm, an inquest at Rochdale Coroner’s Court heard today. The pair were returning to Oldham after visiting a fish shop in Marsden, West Yorkshire, on November 10 of last year.
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After leaving Huddersfield Road, Mr Young's Mazda smashed into a tree before continuing down the embankment into a field, leaving the two men trapped inside. A passer-by dialled 999 and emergency services attended the scene. Mr Young was pulled from the vehicle and taken to hospital, but Reiss died at the scene in Saddleworth.
Police Sergeant Neil Pennington of GMP's Serious Collision Investigation Unit told the hearing that analysis of the vehicle's airbag module showed the Mazda had been travelling at 110mph just seconds before the crash - more than double the 50mph speed limit. At the time the car hit the tree, it was travelling at 58mph, he added.
PS Pennington told the hearing that officers had examined the vehicle and had not found any "significant defects" that could have contributed to the crash. He said there was no evidence to suggest any other vehicles were involved in the incident.
"At the speed they were driving at, if anything did happen or a loss of control were to occur, it would be very hard for them to regain control of that vehicle," PS Pennington concluded.
A post-mortem examination carried out by pathologist Dr Abdul Ganjifrockwala revealed the cause of Reiss's death as "multiple fatal injuries as a result of a road traffic collision". Toxicology results showed that Mr Young had not been impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash.
The inquest was told that Reiss and Mr Young had been friends for about six years and were working together at the Grill at Number 20 in Oldham town centre at the time of their deaths. Mr Young owned the restaurant while Reiss was the bar manager.
Reiss, of Beech Avenue, Oldham, had previously worked as a TV actor and had starred in the 2017 crime drama Murdered for Being Different, which is based on the murder of Sophie Lancaster in Bacup. Reiss's dad Darryl told the court that his son had auditioned for other roles, as well training as a barber as a "fallback".
In a statement, Mr Jarvis described his son as "the life and soul of the party", recalling his love of music and how he would write and compose his own songs. He told of how Reiss's death had taken a "terrible toll" on his health and said he had since suffered a stroke.
Assistant coroner Michael Salt concluded that Reiss died as a result of a "road traffic collision". He added: "This case highlights again the dangers of excessive speed on the roads.
"On this occasion a very talented and loyal young man has lost his life and the only explanation we have is one of loss of control of the vehicle through excessive speed." An inquest into the death of Mr Young is due to take place on Wednesday.
