THE tragic death of a man thrown from his car after crashing into a tree in Stourton could have been prevented had he been wearing a seatbelt.

Lee Wassell died after driving his blue Subaru Impreza into a tree and a lamp post on the A458 Bridgnorth Road, heading towards Stourbridge, at about 12.40am on January 16.

He was found in the road near to his vehicle by passing motorists and pronounced dead at the scene.

An inquest at Cannock Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, June 21, heard that Mr Wassell, from Clee View Road in Wombourne, may have survived had he been wearing his seatbelt.

Results from a toxicologist at Heartlands Hospital also found the 24-year-old was three-and-a-quarter times over the drink-drive limit and suggestions a drug had been used prior to death.

A report from Pc Carl Kelsall, from Staffordshire Police Collision Investigation Unit, named the contributing factors of death as "use of alcohol", "use of drugs" and "fatigue".

Mr Wassell had been drinking at The Old Bush pub on Swindon Road, Kingswinford, when he sent a text message to his partner at 12.24am agreeing to pick her up from Birmingham.

Mr Wassell lost control of the vehicle when he came to a bend in the road, which was gritted prior to the incident and has a speed limit of 40mph.

Collision investigator, Pc Simon Marshall, described how the car dislodged a lamp post during the crash, which acted as a pivot and spun the car in an anti-clockwise motion.

Pc Marshall said: "The driver experienced a loss of directional control. At some point in that final moment the driver was ejected from the vehicle with injuries that were fatal.

"The severity of the bend should not provide any great difficulty when driving in the speed of the road.

"It is my opinion that if the driver had been wearing a seatbelt he may have remained in the vehicle and the collision may have been survivable."

Pc Matthew Lovatt, collision officer at Staffordshire Police Collision Investigation Unit, said Mr Wassell had been given three previous penalty notices for failing to wear his seatbelt.

In a report, the inquest heard a staff member at The Old Bush described Mr Wassell as being "his usual happy self" who "did not appear to be drunk" upon leaving, although she warned him not to drive.

Mr Wassell had told her he was not drunk.

Coroner Andrew Haigh concluded: "A post-mortem suggests he had died in the collision from multiple injuries and a toxin investigation shows a significant amount of alcohol.

"Lee had been driving on what should have been a straightforward bend.

"The most likely factors are the speed of the vehicle and the amount of alcohol he had consumed. It is that that has caused him to oversteer, with the resulting loss of control of the car.

"The car has gone in an anti-clockwise motion. The rear of the car has had a substantial impact with the tree. The vehicle ended up on the other side of the road.

"Having heard the evidence I am satisfied that this death resulted from a genuine tragic accident which caused multiple injuries. My conclusion is accidental death."

Speaking after the verdict, Mr Wassell’s mother, Lynn, paid tribute to a son "with a heart of gold".

She said: "It was a tragic accident. Lee was a wonderful lad with a heart of gold.

"He was very popular and loved by many people. He could go into a room full of people and he would come out and know everybody."