THE driver of a car which lost control and collided with a tree, killing him and a woman, had been banned from getting behind the wheel, an inquest has heard.

The inquest of Christopher Scott Tarrant, 27, of Dryden Close and Sarah Louise Hoare, 27, of Appleton Drive, held at Winchester Coroners Court, on Wednesday heard the pair died from multiple injures sustained during the crash on March 26 this year.

The court heard Mr Tarrant was driving Miss Hoare’s silver BMW along the A33 near Kings Worthy at around 1.45am, when the car went over a humped bridge, causing Mr Tarrant to lose control of the vehicle and, in an attempt to regain control, he swerved but collided with a tree.

The inquest heard Mr Tarrant had been disqualified from driving until 2019 and there was a small level of alcohol and amphetamine in his blood, which Central Hampshire coroner Graham Short said “would have impaired his judgement and ability to drive.”

During a post-mortem, Dr Adnan Al-Badri said Mr Tarrant suffered a “clear fracture” of the skull and there was some “haemorrhaging on the brain to the surface.”

When asked about the levels of alcohol and amphetamine in his blood, Dr Al-Badri said: “It was a very low level of alcohol which is below the legal limit and the amount of amphetamine is consistent with that of a recreational use.”

Dr Al-Badri concluded both Mr Tarrant and Miss Hoare died of the multiple injuries sustained.

A statement read out from Michael John Spencer, who called the emergency services, said he had seen debris on the northbound carriageway, which caused him to turn around to see what had happened.

His statement read: “There was a vehicle at the side of the road which was totally smashed into the tree.”

The statement goes on to add both Mr Tarrant and Miss Hoare appeared to be dead at the scene and there was a third person in the back seat of the car who ‘was screaming’ when Mr Spencer arrived.

Forensic collision investigator PC Emma Clifford told the inquest that the view of the road coming over the humped bridge is obscured.

PC Clifford said: “The front wheels of the vehicle left the ground coming over the bridge. As they have hit the ground they were angled to the right, which meant the vehicle hit the off-side curb.

“In an effort to correct the vehicle, Mr Tarrant has turned left and this has led to the collision with the mature tree which caused catastrophic damage.”

PC Clifford said she believed Mr Tarrant was travelling in excess of the 50mph speed limit.

In summing up, Mr Short said the reason the pair were travelling on that road at that time will remain a “mystery.”

Mr Short said: “He (Tarrant) did not appreciate the obstruction of the hump and this led his to lose control of the car once the vehicle hit the ground again.”

Recording his conclusion at the end of the inquest, Mr Short said that both Mr Tarrant and Miss Hoare died due to a road traffic collision.