Mother of 11-year-old boy killed while crossing A27 in Titchfield says drivers did all they could to stop

Ben Mundy was crossing Southampton Road, close to Titchfield Primary School, when he was hit by a Vauxhall Mokka and then a Volkswagen Golf at about 4.30pm on Monday, June 3.

His mother Caz Moore told The News that the drivers did all they could to stop, after hearing evidence at Portsmouth Coroner’s Court today during an inquest into Ben’s death.

The 40-year-old said: ‘It has been so hard for the drivers and the witnesses but they did all they could to stop and then help Ben.

‘He was a cheeky chap and that sums him up really.’

The court heard from a number of witnesses that Ben, who was diagnosed with ADHD, had been with his 14-year-old sister and four-year-old brother on his way to Titchfield Recreational Ground when he crossed the four-lane main road at a point with dropped kerbs.

Dashcam footage showed the Heathfield School pupil running into the path of the Vauxhall Mokka before he was hit by the car and ‘somersaulted in to the air’, landing in the other side of the dual carriageway in front of the Volkswagen Golf that had no time to stop.

Bricklayer Bernard Wilson was driving in the same lane as the Vauxhall Mokka and saw the incident unfold.

In a statement read to the court, he said: ‘As soon as I saw the young boy run across the road, I knew he was not going to make it.

‘I don’t believe there was anything that either driver could have done. I don’t know why he ran out as he did.’

Earlier this year Caz started a campaign to have the crossing point or the 40mph speed limit changed.

The-mother-of-six said: ‘I will carry on pushing to get this changed so no other parent has to go through what we have gone through.’

Concerns were raised over foliage on the pavement obstructing driver and pedestrian views but a forensic collision investigator said Ben would have been close enough to the road to negate this.

Coroner John Matthews recorded a verdict of an accidental death.

He said: ‘I can see how much impact it has had on everyone involved. The drivers and witnesses are still very upset by it.’