Inquest hears how Bridlington boy Taylor's death was the third road-accident tragedy to hit the family
A young boy who lost both his father and stepfather in road tragedies died after running out from behind a bus into the path of a car in Bridlington, an inquest heard.
Taylor Swift, 12, died from a massive and “unsurvivable” head injury at Leeds General Infirmary the following morning.
It was the third disaster to hit Taylor’s mother Katie Tolley, of Bridlington, in just over a decade.
His father Stuart Swift died in a road accident at Carnaby 12 years ago.
In 2018, her husband Andy Tolley, Taylor’s stepfather, was killed in a motorcycle accident at Bempton.
A statement from Mrs Tolley read to the hearing in Hull said on the afternoon of the accident, February 15, 2019, Taylor was in “good spirits, his usual cheeky self” when he went out with some friends after school.
She rushed to the scene when she heard there had been an accident. She said: “Losing Taylor has changed my life forever. It has totally devastated me and my family.”
The inquest heard that Taylor was seen around an hour before the accident running along the road, with his head down “oblivious” to the traffic.
A car had to brake to avoid hitting him as he ran across the road.
On the second occasion coroner Prof Paul Marks said the youngster’s head was also down, as he ran out from behind the stationary bus, colliding with the oncoming car.
Reaching a conclusion that it had been an accident, he said nobody was to blame.
Prof Marks said it has been a “low velocity” impact, adding that there was “no opportunity” for the driver to avoid the collision. He said the deaths of both Taylor’s father and stepfather had exacted a “terrible emotional toll”.
The motorist was later dealt with for driving without insurance but not charged with any other offence.
Dozens of balloons, with messages written by his friends, were released at a memorial event on the fields off Gypsey Road attended by hundreds of people following Taylor’s death.