A CYCLIST who was struck by two cars and killed had a cocktail of alcohol and illegal drugs in his system.

Declan Shea was negotiating a bend in the 60mph Harwich Road, Great Bromley, when he was hit from behind by a Mercedes, driven by 71-year-old Terence Smith.

The 31-year-old was flung on to the windscreen and over the roof of the car, before landing in the road.

A Nissan Juke, travelling in the opposite direction, then struck Mr Shea.

It was around 8pm and dark with no nearby street lights illuminating the road.

An inquest held at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court heard Mr Shea was riding his bicycle without a helmet and wearing dark clothing.

Tests later conducted by forensic collision investigator PC Kat Burke suggested front and rear lights fitted to the bike were not illuminated.

“It was a mild, clear evening and around 50 minutes after sunset,” she said.

“Mr Shea was riding his bicycle along Harwich Road, dressed in dark coloured clothing and not wearing a cycle helmet.

“The section of road where the incident occurred was very dark, with no street lights present and no ambient light available.

“Mr Smith was driving behind Mr Shea when he collided with the rear of Mr Shea’s bicycle, around 200 meters into a sweeping left hand bend.

“The bike was positioned 1.2 meters from the near side kerb.”

She added: “The Mercedes continued forward and Mr Shea struck the windscreen.

"Mr Shea’s movement over the roof suggests the Mercedes was not braking at the time of impact.

“The bike continued towards the off-side verge, where it came to a rest.

"Mr Shea was accelerated by the Mercedes and as he separated from the roof of the vehicle he continued in a straight line and ended in the off side lane.

“He came to rest in the Elmstead Market bound lane.

“A Nissan Juke passed over Mr Shea’s body.

"With no physical movement, Mr Shea would have been difficult to identify.

“The Nissan driver was travelling at 40mph with dipped beam headlights.

"Very sadly, Mr Shea died at the scene.”

Following the crash, Mr Smith drove his damaged car home, before returning to the scene in a different car with his son.

He later admitted a dangerous driving charge, relating to the condition of the car he drove in the aftermath of the crash.

He was exonerated of any blame in relation to causing Mr Shea’s death.

Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard Mr Smith was a “broken man” who struggled to sleep following the crash.

Continuing her evidence, PC Burke calculated Mr Smith was likely driving between 60 and 70mph when he struck Mr Shea, although she conceded the speed could have been slightly lower.

She also carried out a re-enactment of the incident, dressing a colleague in similar dark clothing, with the same reflectors Mr Shea had used that evening.

Her fellow officer rode a bicycle around the bend at the same time of evening while PC Burke drove closely behind.

She said: “Even though I knew the PC was there, I found it very hard to identify him.

“I couldn’t see him or the bike, all I could see were the yellow flashes from the reflectors.

“I also had that prior warning.

“It made the PC and the bike itself completely indistinguishable on dipped beam headlights.”

A toxicology report carried out following Mr Shea’s death found he had 154mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood at the time of the crash, nearly twice the legal drink drive limit.

Prescription and illegal drugs, including cocaine and methadone, were in his system.

Summing up her findings, PC Burke said: “Mr Smith had little advanced warning of his presence on the carriageway.

“Mr Shea had a level of alcohol and prescribed and illegal drugs in his system and it is possible this affected his decision.”

Senior coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray recorded a conclusion that Declan Shea died as a result of a road traffic collision.

She said: “Please could sympathy be expressed to Mr Shea’s family.”