A NIGHT out ended in tragedy when two brothers crashed on a North Yorkshire moorland road.
An inquest at Pickering heard that self-employed joiner Adrian Frank, 25, of Goathland, near Whitby, lost control of his Audi coupe car, which careered into a tree.
Mr Frank died in hospital four days later from injuries sustained in the accident, in May.
His brother, Russell, said that they had been to a family party in Leeds, and had gone to the Flask Inn, at Fylingdales, where they had met a friend they had not seen for some time.
They had drunk between four and five pints and later a whisky, before declining an offer of accommodation at the inn and deciding to drive home.
Shortly afterwards, their car crashed on the Sleights to Grosmont Road, at a speed estimated by police accident investigator Michael Natt to have been between 55 and 60 mph.
Mr Frank should have been able to negotiate the bend, but the investigator said: "Drink must be a prime consideration in the cause of this accident."
This was a view shared by North Yorkshire East Coroner Michael Oakley, who recorded a verdict of accidental death.
"I am led to conclude that loss of control of the car was due to drink," Mr Oakley said.
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