‘Kind, caring and bubbly’ builder, 26, 'followed by other car' prior to fatal crash, inquest hears

A builder who died in a high speed car crash had been involved in an ‘altercation’ outside a pub just moments earlier, an inquest has been told.

Joshua Lowe, 26, suffered ‘catastrophic’ injuries after losing control of a Mercedes GLA 200 in Tameside on the evening of December 10 2021. He died at Salford Royal Hospital a few hours later.

An investigation by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) concluded that the car was being followed by another vehicle, although Sergeant Matthew Waggett, of GMP's Serious Collision Investigation Unit told Stockport Coroner’s Court that GMP could not say whether the other car was ‘in pursuit’ or ‘driving in tandem’ with Mr Lowe’s Mercedes due to insufficient evidence.

READ MORE : Family's heartbreaking tribute to 'kind, caring and bubbly' man killed in Tameside crash

Ashley Robinson, who told the hearing that he was Mr Lowe’s ‘best mate’ of around 10 years, was in the passenger seat of Mr Lowe’s Mercedes when it crashed but he escaped relatively uninjured. He admitted to being involved in the altercation outside the Railway Inn, in Hyde, and knowing the identities of the other two men but refused to name them.

“I don’t want to answer that question. I can’t be a***d with this to be honest, f*****g hell,” he responded when senior coroner Alison Mutch asked him what they were called.

Ms Mutch addressed Mr Robinson's aggressive tone and swearing, before warning him that he could be in contempt of court if he did not respond. She then asked: “Are you refusing to answer the question because you believe it will incriminate you?” Mr Robinson answered: “Yes.”

CCTV footage showed that Mr Lowe’s Mercedes was speeding at the time of the collision. When asked why this was the case, Mr Robinson said: