Soldiers died in collision with tractor at County Antrim junction

Two soldiers were killed when their car failed to stop at a junction and crashed into a tractor in County Antrim, an inquest has heard.

L/Cpl David Gwilt from Bedford, and rifleman Dale Harris from Barnsley, died in the collision near Cullybackey in August 2014.

The 24-year-olds had been serving in the 2nd Battalion The Rifles, based at Thiepval Barracks in Lisburn.

Their colleague, rifleman Matthew Robins, escaped major injury.

Mr Robins told Belfast Coroner's Court how the three had left the barracks that morning to spend some time fishing.

He said the friends had stopped at two lakes and were on the way to find another spot to fish when the accident happened.

The soldier said he recalled being in the front passenger seat of the car as they drove along, but had no memory of the crash that followed.

"The next thing I remember I was in the ambulance and a paramedic was on the phone to my missus," he said.

Mr Robins, also from England, later told the coroner that none of the men were familiar with the roads in that part of County Antrim.

Jordan Marks was driving the tractor and trailer along the Ballyconnelly Road at around 20:00 BST when the silver Fiat Punto owned and driven by Mr Gwilt emerged from a junction.

"I just got a sight of a car flying out of the junction," Mr Marks said.

The vehicle collided with the front of the tractor and spun around before crashing into a road sign.

A retired doctor and two off-duty nurses were among the first to come upon the scene of the crash.

Despite their efforts, the two soldiers were declared dead at the site. Mr Gwilt was in the driver's seat and Mr Harris was in the back passenger seat behind him.

A road traffic collision investigator said the junction at the approach to the Ballyconnelly Road was clearly marked with signs and road markings.

"The Fiat was required to stop by the road markings and signage," he said.

Mr Dunn said it was not possible to determine the exact speed the soldiers' car was travelling at, but added: "It was not moving at a relatively slow speed."

Assessing the conclusions of the expert's report, the coroner said: "The bottom line is the car failed to stop at the junction and very tragically that led to a collision with the tractor and the deaths of the driver and passenger."

A policeman told the coroner there had been a "collision history" at the junction and explained there was another side road directly opposite the road the soldiers were travelled on - giving the impression of one continuing road.

"If you weren't paying close attention you might miss the junction completely," he said.

The coroner heard that Transport NI has agreed to introduce additional safety measures at the junction - such as 'rumble strip' road paint to give drivers further warning to slow down and high visibility bordering around the stop signs.

The coroner welcomed the steps.

"I always hope something will arise out of a tragedy that will improve matters and may prevent the occurrence of something similar," he said.

Recording the deaths as being the result of a road crash, the coroner extended his sympathies to the relatives of the two soldiers and again commended all those who had attempted to save them.