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Cricketer who died on railway line was high on drugs and alcohol, inquest told Cricketer who died on railway line was high on drugs and alcohol, inquest told
(about 1 hour later)
A county cricketer was electrocuted on a railway line before being struck by train as he attempted to flee police after driving while on a cocktail of drink and drugs, an inquest has heard. Tom Maynard, a gifted young Surrey cricketer who died last year after being struck by an underground train in London, was a habitual cocaine user who was four times over the legal drink drive limit when he was killed, an inquest has heard.
Tom Maynard, who had been widely tipped as a future England international, was found near Wimbledon Park station on the London Underground District line shortly after 5am on Monday 18 June last year. Maynard, 23, was run over by a train on an overground section of track in the early hours of 18 June, about 50 minutes after he ran away from police officers who had stopped his Mercedes in south-west London as he was driving to see his girlfriend.
The 23-year-old Surrey batsman was electrocuted after stepping on a live track before his lifeless body was hit by a train, causing him to die from multiples injuries, Westminster coroners court heard. The inquest heard Maynard seemingly stepped on a live electric rail, which could have killed him before the train struck him, and at least left him unconscious.
He had earlier been stopped by police nearby after his black Mercedes was seen driving erratically, but the sports star fled the vehicle, leaving his keys in the ignition. Westminster coroner's court heard from toxicologists, who said Maynard's hair showed evidence of ecstasy, as well as residues of cocaine consistent with almost daily use for several months. His body tissues contained alcohol equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 240 micrograms per 100ml, four times the drink-drive limit.
A postmortem examination showed he was nearly four times the legal limit to drive and had also taken cocaine and ecstasy in the form of MDMA after a night out with his two flatmates in Wandsworth, south London. The cocaine residues showed "an abuse level of cocaine use", the forensic scientist Fiona Perry told the inquest.
Tests on hair samples indicted Maynard may have been a regular drug user up to three and half months before his death, the inquest heard. Maynard, who joined Surrey from Glamorgan in 2011, was seen as a hugely promising batsman. He had already played for the England Lions, the second-string national team, and was tipped for full international duty.
Forensic pathologist Dr Simon Poole told the inquest jury that Maynard suffered burns to his feet, ankles and shin which were consistent with injuries suffered by skin touching live railway tracks. The jury heard from two of Maynard's teammates that they had gone out drinking the evening after a defeat to Kent in the 20/20 county series. They drank beer at the home in Wandsworth, south-west London, Maynard shared with the then Surrey captain, Rory Hamilton-Brown. went on to a pub, and then consumed numerous vodka and Red Bull mixes at a nightclub in Mayfair before returning to the house.
It was not possible to say, however, whether electrocution or the impact with the train caused Maynard's death, he added. "I would say he was pretty intoxicated," said Hamilton-Brown when asked to describe Maynard's state at around 1.30am, when he last saw him. Earlier in the hearing Hamilton-Brown sobbed into his hands as the jury was read a letter to Maynard's parents from the Surrey club physiotherapist, Alex Tysone. It described the cricketer as "gentle, funny and intelligent" and without "a single arrogant bone in his body".
Postmortem tests indicted high levels of alcohol in his urine, as well as the presence of MDMA, cocaine and the compound cocaethylene, the inquest heard. Both Hamilton-Brown and another club colleague out on the night in question, Jade Dernbach, said they had never known that Maynard used cocaine.
In a statement, Dr Rosa Cordero said analysis of hair samples showed positive results for the presence of MDMA and cocaine levels between 8.7 and 10 nanograms per milligram, which matched some daily users of the drug. In the early hours of the morning that he died, Maynard telephoned his girlfriend, Carly Baker, to say he was coming to see her. Baker told the inquest she repeatedly tried to put him off, believing he was drunk and not wanting him to drive.
Maynard, who came through the ranks at Glamorgan, earned himself a place on the England Lions tour to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the start of last year. Two police officers in an unmarked car saw Maynard's Mercedes pull out from a side road in Wandsworth at speed and without seemingly looking. They followed him down another side road, where the way was blocked by a barrier.
The Cardiff-born cricketer was the son of former England and Glamorgan batsman Matthew Maynard. Constable David Wishart told the inquest he flashed the car's blue lights and shouted: "Police officers, mate, wait there for a minute", only for Maynard to abandon the still-running car on foot.
The Metropolitan police launched an investigation into Maynard's death. The police tried to follow but lost the cricketer, whose identity they discovered from a BlackBerry phone left in the car with his Facebook profile open. Around 50 minutes later, just after 5am, the first eastbound train of the day from Wimbledon station ran over Maynard's prone body.
It said pursuing officers lost sight of him after he made off on foot and had no further contact with him. In a statement read to the inquest the driver, Martin Hopping, said he initially thought he had seen sacks of ballast by the track before realising, too late to stop the train in time, that it was a person.
About 50 minutes passed between the start of the police chase and Maynard being hit by the train. Maynard was lying "perfectly still" across all four tracks with no sign of consciousness when the train ran over him, Hopping said.
British transport police said the death was treated as "non-suspicious". The inquest heard from British Transport police that Maynard's body was found between Wimbledon Park and Southfield stations, on a raised section of track by Wimbledon Park. It was not known where he got access to the track.
The evidence in the inquest has now finished, with the jury due to consider their verdict on Tuesday afternoon after directions from the coroner, Fiona Wilcox.