'Unwell' driver who killed road worker after smashing through barriers found dead at his home weeks later

A road worker died after a diabetic motorist who had felt unwell at the wheel for half a mile crashed into a trench where he was working, an inquest heard.

Electrical engineer Martin Andrew Parker, 39, suffered catastrophic chest injuries when a Vauxhall Astra crashed through roadworks and ploughed into a ditch where he was replacing cabling. He died at the scene.

An inquest into his death heard that diabetic driver of the Astra, who had 'skipped breakfast' and admitted he struggled with his vision moments before the crash, was investigated for allegedly causing death by dangerous driving but he died before any charges were brought.

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Mr Parker, a father from Denton, was working on Featherstall Road in Littleborough when the incident happened just before 11.47am on Sunday, October 17, 2021.

The Electricity North West Ltd employee was working in a ditch with a colleague when the Astra, instead of following the road to the right, mounted the pavement and crashed through the roadworks, ending up in the trench where Mr Parker was working.

At his inquest in Rochdale on Friday afternoon, the officer who investigated the crash, Sgt Andrew Page, told a jury that officers spoke to the driver of the Astra, Jonathan Rigg, who admitted he started to feel unwell a 'short distance' before the crash. The driver said he had diabetes and admitted his vision had become 'impaired' before the incident, the officer told the inquest. The officer said there was no evidence the driver had been speeding along the 30mph limit Featherstall Road.

Sgt Page said Mr Rigg, from Tameside, was found dead at his home on January 24 this