'A ‘gentle and kind’ dad tragically died following a collision on the M6 in Cheshire, near Trafford.
Guy Mills Kelshall, 76, died after his Mazda 3 collided with Cann Lane bridge on the M6 southbound between junctions 20 and 19.
Mr Kelshall, from Cottisford in Northamptonshire, was driving back from Scotland with his wife, Katrina, on May 12, 2021.
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Cheshire Live reports they had been visiting his brother, who usually lives in Texas, but was staying in the UK due to the pandemic.
At around 4pm, the couple were travelling along the M6 southbound near Knutsford when their vehicle started 'slowly moving from the motorway' towards the verge.
According to witnesses, the car collided with the bridge with 'no evidence of any braking or skidding'.
Sadly, Mr Kelsall sustained fatal injuries, whilst front seat passenger Mrs Kelsall was rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary with serious injuries.
An inquest into Mr Kelsall's death was held in Warrington on January 14, where Assistant Coroner Heath Westerman recorded a cause of death as "multiple injuries due to road traffic collision due to ischemic heart disease and previous right occipital stroke."
Concluding that the death was a result of a road traffic collision, Assistant Coroner Heath Westerman said: "Guy Mills Kelsall died on the 12th May, 2021, on the M6 motorway between junctions 20 and 19 near Knutsford in Cheshire due to the unsurvivable and fatal multiple injuries he received when the Mazda 3 vehicle he was driving left the motorway, colliding with Cann Lane Bridge as a result of an underlying heart condition and previous stroke.
"My conclusion in the circumstances is therefore one of a road traffic collision."
The inquest previously heard evidence in a report provided by pathologist Sally Ann Hales, who said Mr Kelsall "appears to have died from multiple injuries due to the road traffic collision".
She added that "given the circumstances, this appears to be related to an underlying illness given the severe ischemic heart disease and the presence of an occipital stroke".
PC Thompson, a forensic collision investigator for Cheshire Constabulary said there was 'no braking prior to the collision'.
A report from PC Thompson read: "The car travelled from the carriageway and onto the adjacent grass verge before colliding with Cann Lane Bridge.
"Evidence shows that the Mazda 3 was not braking prior to the collision.
“The toxicology report concluded that there was no alcohol, drugs or any metabolite detected in his system at the time.
"There were no mechanical defects with his vehicle. Witnesses described the vehicle as slowly moving from the motorway in the right lane towards the verge and then colliding with the bridge with no evidence of any breaking or skidding or anything of that nature."
In written evidence read at the hearing, Lauren Kelsall, Mr Kelsall's daughter, described her family as a 'very incredibly close unit'.
She said: "My parents got married on the 12th December 1985 at a registry office in Hackney having been in a relationship for around 10 years prior to that date.
"They had a very happy marriage. We were always a very incredibly close family unit. Our favourite pastime was to have weekends together eating out and drinking and thoroughly enjoying each other's company.
"My Dad originally qualified as a solicitor in 1974 and he immediately worked in private practice.
“After pursuing other ventures including opening a French wine bar and cafe and working as a legal director of a charity, he returned to private practice in the late 1990s.”
Miss Kelsall added that her father, who retired three years ago, was 'well respected' by his local community, and that he would be 'sorely missed'.
She said: "My Dad retired in Spring 2019 in order to spend more time focusing on his passion for DIY, woodwork and general shed-related activities.
"He was well respected and much-loved by his local community.
“He will be very sorely missed by our family, both immediate and extended, and the large network of friends my parents have made together in all stages of their lives.
"The overriding theme from all of the condolences we have received to date is how gentle, kind, generous and fun loving he was, which I wholeheartedly second.
"He was a lifelong committed believer in prioritizing and enjoying the present."
