A POLICE officer who investigated a fatal road accident told a court that poor road surfacing may have contributed to the crash.

Philip Mckenna died when he lost control of his car while negotiating a bend on a busy dual carriageway.

An inquest into the 23-year-old's death was held at Darlington Coroner's Court yesterday. Mr Mckenna, of Cygnet Close, Newcastle, died of multiple injuries when he was thrown from his Renault Clio into a tree-lined central reservation.

The crash took place on the A177 a mile north of Thorpe Larches, County Durham, on October 25 last year.

PC Ian Hague, who specialises in investigating road accidents, attended the scene.

He told the court his investigations showed there was nothing to suggest Mr Mckenna was driving too quickly, and examinations of the vehicle proved it was road worthy.

He said: "When I arrived at the scene, I saw depressions in the road.

"I called Durham City Council as I wanted someone from its highways department to attend the scene and check it for themselves."

A council representative visited the site and produced a report, parts of which were read out to the court.

It said a number of depressions between 25 and 45 millimetres deep were found on a five or six-metre stretch of the road where the accident took place.

The report said it was unclear if these had contributed to the crash.

However, the council recommended the stretch of the road be resurfaced, and the work was carried out two days after the accident.

A post-mortem examination was carried out that showed Mr Mckenna had suffered a ruptured liver and kidney and brain injuries.

A verdict of accidental death was recorded.