A teenager who had recently passed his driving test died instantly after crashing his car on a rural road in Devon, an inquest heard. Much-loved Archie Harris was aged just 17 when he was killed on the A3072 near his home in Holsworthy.<\/p>\n
He lost control while travelling too fast around a bend and was not wearing a seatbelt. His Ford<\/a> Fiesta left the road, hit a tree and ended up nose down in a gully.<\/p>\n An inquest into his death has been held in Exeter<\/a>. The fatal crash happened on the Bank Holiday<\/a> weekend, May 26, 2024 – just 11 days after Archie had got his driving licence.<\/p>\n The teenager, a former student at Holsworthy’s primary and secondary schools, was described by his parents as ‘the life and soul’ of any gathering and his tragic death has left his circle of family and friends with a ‘massive void’ in their lives.<\/p>\n The inquest heard that on the day he died Archie met up with a group of friends met at the Memorial Hall car park in Holsworthy and drove in a three-car convoy to The Bickford Arms a few miles away on the A3072.<\/p>\n They played pool in the pub before leaving. One of Archie’s friends described him as being very excited about finally getting his driving licence and having the freedom to drive.<\/p>\n The group of friends left the pub shortly before 4pm. Archie’s Ford Focus was the last car in the convoy.<\/p>\n The inquest heard from members of the public who were driving on the road that day and travelling in the opposite direction. They saw cars driving ‘recklessly’ at speed around a bend.<\/p>\n One witness said she saw the fatal crash. The third vehicle, which was a few seconds behind the others, swerved while rounding the bend before rolling and coming to rest in a gully beside the road. She pulled over and called 999.<\/p>\n Police, the air ambulance, fire and ambulance paramedics all attended. Archie had been ejected from the vehicle and was sadly pronounced deceased at the scene at 4.39pm.<\/p>\n A post-mortem found he died of multiple injuries. There was no alcohol in his system and his phone was in his pocket.<\/p>\n