An inquest has been held into the death of the apprentice bricklayer who died following an incident on the A52. The much-loved teenager died when he either jumped or fell from a bridge over the A52 just a few hundred years from his Borrowash home.
The inquest heard that Lachlan Regan was struck at high speed by two cars travelling towards Derby at around 11.10pm on December 3, last year, Derbyshire Live reports.
Minutes earlier he had sent his girlfriend of nine months a message saying he loved her and asking her to look after his little sister. However, the hearing was told that the former West Park School popular, had no history of mental illness.
Reaching a narrative conclusion at Derby and Derbyshire Coroner’s Court, Coroner Peter Nieto said: “Lachlan died when he sustained severe and unsurvivable injuries when he either fell or jumped from a footbridge on the A52 and was struck by two vehicles. It is likely he was intoxicated with alcohol at that time. There are a couple of factors I have to weigh up, the first being was Lachlan contemplating harming himself?
“He said (to two friends) he was having episodes of low mood and (in a message) said to his girlfriend ‘I loved you’ in the past tense so there is reason to imagine Lachlan was having some thoughts of harming himself. No one saw Lachlan come off the bridge and we don’t know exactly why he came to come off the bridge.
“Whether he was being reckless or thoughtless it is impossible to say. It may have been something (he did) in the heat of the moment (but) I can't say he deliberately jumped.”
The inquest heard how Lachlan, of Priorway Avenue, had been drinking during the afternoon of December 3, last year, firstly in the Babington Arms and then at the Corn Exchange where he played pool with friends.
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Giving evidence at the inquest, Det Con Trish Siddal-Hart, said the teenager then got a lift home from a workmate at Bloor Homes’ girlfriend who had never met him before and described him as “drunk but happy and not particularly slurring his words”.
The witness said Lachlan then spent time speaking to two friends in the street where he lived who later expressed their concerns about his increasing alcohol consumption and who he told he had been feeling down but was not contemplating suicide.
She said Lachlan then walked off from the street in the direction of the Cole Lane footbridge over the dual carriageway. Det Con Siddal-Hart said: “At 11.04pm he sent a message to his girlfriend which read ‘look after Molly-Rose (his sister), I loved you’. It was in the past tense.
“She tried to ring him several times and then called Molly-Rose and other friends.” The officer told how the emergency services were called to the A52 where Lachlan had been hit by two cars - a taxi bringing four passengers back from Nottingham and a Jaguar containing a couple from Wiltshire who were staying in a hotel in Derby.
He was declared deceased at the scene and a cause of death was given as multiple injuries.
Det Con Siddal-Hart said: “In my conclusion, Lachlan was a 19-year-old who lived with his parents with no diagnosed physical or mental health conditions. He appeared to be a happy person who was loved by many, however, it is clear from friends who Lachlan confided in that he had suffered bouts of depression but never mentioned (to them) the root cause of what was causing it.”
In a statement, following his death in December, Lachlan’s family said: "Our family and all his friends are truly heartbroken. Lachlan is loved by so many and in his short 19 years of life he knew so many people and touched all their hearts. Lachlan’s family was his world; he was never too old for hugs and kisses and would give them out in the most meaningful way.
“He adored his little sister, and they had the most amazing bond. They would play fight, sing, chat and hang out together. He was never embarrassed to be seen with his mum and dad, coming on family holidays and swimming in the sea.
“When Dylan, Lachlan’s cousin, came into our home 11 years ago Lachlan thought it was great to have a constant playmate, they would play army, dinosaurs, Hot Wheels and Nerf guns, running riot around the house. There was never a dull moment. Lachlan knew from an early age that family is everything and that Dylan was not just his cousin but his true brother.
“He was a Borrowash lad through and through and he would wave and smile at everyone, take time out to help people if he knew them or not. He was also a grafter, the muddier the better! He would come home from a hard day's work full of stories about his day, he worked hard and was driven to qualify as a bricklayer and had his whole life ahead of him.
“Lachlan was the life and soul of all our lives and would light up the room wherever he went and was always smiling with a beautiful soul. He is so unbelievably missed and loved and will always be in our hearts, and will never be forgotten. The love and support from our family, friends and the community - it is truly overwhelming and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
