DRINK and drugs were found in the system of a man killed in a crash on Whippingham Road, an inquest at Isle of Wight Coroner's Court heard today (Tuesday).
Jonathan Legge, 46, of Kings Road, East Cowes, was seen by other drivers to be driving his Vauxhall Corsa erratically at about 80 miles per hour just before the crash on March 1, 2016.
As he rounded a bend on the national speed limit road he was seen to lose control of the car and swerve into the oncoming lane where he hit another car, seriously injuring the driver.
Mr Legge died instantly from his injuries, with a post mortem revealing the cause of death as a fracture of the spinal column and traumatic spinal injuries.
The post-mortem also revealed he was above the drink drive limit and had cocaine and codeine in his system.
Mrs Sumeray said that Mr Legge had a long and significant history of depression and substance abuse.
According to a doctor's report, Mr Legge had been taking up to 42 codeine tablets a day at one point.
"He was a deeply troubled man," Mrs Sumeray said.
The court heard that on the day he died he was feeling particularly low because of the recent break down of a relationship, but Mrs Sumeray said there was no evidence to suggest that he was trying to kill himself.
Ian Garside, the driver of the second vehicle, has been unable to walk since the crash, which happened more than ten months ago.
Mr Garside was in St Mary's Hospital for a month and is still undergoing leg operations.
Isle of Wight coroner Caroline Sumeray said Mr Garside was lucky to be alive and PC Stephen Wootton, of the forensic collision investigation unit at Hampshire Constabulary, said that were it not for the fact he was driving a Land Rover, the court may have been looking at a double fatality.