A MAN who had been driving for 13 hours after he took drugs died when he lost control of his car.

After the accident, on the A19 at Thirsk, North Yorkshire, in June, traces of ecstasy and cocaine were found in the body of Rudolf de Coursey Goddard, who had changed his name to Rudi X.

An inquest held yesterday heard that Mr X, from Acklam, Middlesbrough, picked up a friend at about midnight the previous evening to go for a drive in his Mercedes 4x4.

He lost control of the vehicle at 1pm the next day while travelling southbound on the A19, hitting a Vauxhall Astra.

The Astra then hit a Ford Ka, while the Mercedes left the road and rolled into a field.

Mr X was wearing a seatbelt but was thrown out of the vehicle.

He died at the scene. The other drivers and his passenger suffered minor injuries.

A post-mortem examination found the level of drugs in his body was likely to have affected his co-ordination and response times.

PC Paul Davenport told the Northallerton inquest that tiredness, the drugs and possible poorly maintained tyres on the car may have contributed to the accident.

He said the back of Mr X's seat fell backwards at the time of impact, meaning he was probably thrown through the rear window, which had been broken.

Coroner Michael Oakley recorded a verdict of accidental death.