The heartbroken fiancée of a father of five has issued a safety plea to drivers after he died in a collision with two parked cars in Langley Mill. Joseph Wesley Haslam, known as Joe, has been described as a "big kid at heart" and a "real life Peter Pan" following an inquest into his death which revealed that the 38-year-old was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of his crash.
Paying tribute to her fiancée, Laura Bassnett said that he was an "adrenaline junkie" and was a "wonderful dad." The collision happened when Mr Haslam's Nissan Qashqai collided with two parked cars on Cromford Road in Langley Mill at around 12.35am on April 3, DerbyshireLive reports. The inquest found that he was over the drink-drive limit.
Laura Bassnett, 27, paid tribute to her partner of six years by saying: "He was always happy, always smiling, always joking, always laughing. He was very outgoing, he was always planning on things to do and was very organised. He was full of life and just a normal, generally happy guy. He was a big kid, a total adrenaline junkie, and could have been a real-life Peter Pan.
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"I always knew Joe as we were friends from living in the same area. We went on a date and got together straight away. We got engaged in 2018 and were due to get married in 2020, but Covid came so the wedding got rearranged for July this year. We were meant to move the day after the crash, and the honeymoon was booked for August.
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"Please, make sure you wear a seatbelt. I never thought [when Joe left] it would be the last time I saw Joe. Don't take it for granted, as you never know what will happen.
"He was a wonderful dad to the kids. He did everything with our son, it's as if the two were joined at the hip. Tommy-Joe [Laura and Joe's son] did a lot of fitness with him, and they were best friends. Tommy misses his dad every day and so do I, but we'll never forget him, we talk about his dad all the time and he will live inside Tommy."
Mr Haslam, a personal trainer and dog breeder who was born in Nottingham, had one child with Miss Bassnett, four-year-old Tommy-Joe, and three other children from previous relationships. He was also stepfather to Miss Bassnett's second son, 11-year-old Jack.
A documentary inquest into his death was opened on April 24, 2022, and was resumed at Derby Coroner's Court on Tuesday, October 25. A report from a Derbyshire police detective constable, Patricia Siddall-Hart, said that officers were first called to the scene at 12.40am on April 3 by paramedics from East Midlands Ambulance Service.
Mr Haslam, along with his nephew, Ryan Pulford, was returning from the Phoenix Snooker Club in Mansfield Road, Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, turning into Cromford Road from the A610, just a short distance from Mr Haslam's home in Gregory Avenue, Langley Mill. CCTV from the snooker club showed the pair arriving at around 7.30pm, with Mr Haslam drinking at least one or two pints of lager while there.
Following the collision, Mr Haslam, who was driving, was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services at around 1.30am, despite the best efforts of firefighters and a local resident who performed CPR at the roadside. Floral tributes were left at the scene, with one saying he was a "wonderful lad" who had an "infectious laugh", while others said he would be "truly and utterly missed".
Mr Haslam's nephew was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham where he stayed for three weeks. He was in an induced coma for some of that time and is still recovering from abdominal injuries sustained in the incident, with no memory of the crash other than hearing a "massive loud bang".
He said: "I remember being at the Phoenix Snooker Club, but I can't remember when I got there. I remember playing pool there at some point. I vaguely remember Joe having one or two pints of lager, but could not remember him drinking more than that.
"I wish I could remember more about the incident. I think about it a lot. I can't imagine for a second that Joe would have done anything to put his or my life in danger. I was so caring and a good driver, I was very close to him and miss him every day."
At 12.18am on the morning of April 3, CCTV footage from the snooker club showed Mr Haslam appearing to fall asleep at the bar, before being the last person to leave with Mr Pulford at 12.31am. It was said during the inquest that he was notably tired in the hours leading up to the crash, due to having little sleep the previous night because he was looking after a new litter of puppies and being busy with moving house.
DC Siddall-Hart said in her report that upon leaving the snooker club, Mr Haslam "appeared to be unsteady on his feet" while getting into the Nissan Qashqai, owned by Miss Bassnett, and driving home. CCTV from Cromford Road showed him turning into the street at 12.35am, with a black Ford Mondeo one of several parked cars along the road.
DC Siddall-Hart said: "The car appeared to be driven at speed. It did not steer to its right [to avoid the Ford Mondeo] but instead appeared to drift prior to colliding with it head-on. CCTV indicates that Mr Haslam was conscious at the time of the collision."
Footage showed that brake lights were applied just moments before impact with the Ford Mondeo, which then stunted a red Honda Jazz parked next to it. Later investigations revealed that Mr Haslam was driving at between 59 and 65mph - double the road's 30mph speed limit - with no defects found with the car.
A post-mortem examination carried out by Dr Cornelia Howitt on April 12 found injuries consistent with a traumatic event, but no underlying health issues which could have contributed to the crash. However, the examination found that Mr Haslam had suffered heavy internal bleeding from the crash, which would have been fatal.
While it was not known exactly how much Mr Haslam drank, a toxicology report found that he had 287 milligrams (mg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres (ml) of blood in his system, three and a half times the legal limit of 80mg alcohol per 100ml of blood. As a result, a medical cause of death was given as a traumatic brain injury and traumatic intra-abdominal haemorrhage - internal bleeding in the abdomen - contributed to by acute alcohol toxicity.
Sophie Lomas, assistant coroner for Derby and Derbyshire, recorded a conclusion of a road traffic collision. She said it was impossible to say on the evidence whether Mr Haslam would have survived the crash had he worn a seatbelt, but that the speed and alcohol intoxication were contributory factors to the fatal crash.
Addressing Miss Bassnett, Miss Lomas said: "I have heard about Joe and this is a really tragic case where he has left behind you and your son. It seems like he was really well thought of and quite a character, so I want to pass on my condolences. It is not easy while this remains hanging over you."
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