A man found dead after being hit by a car while walking home from a night out more than two years ago suffered “unsurvivable injuries”, an inquest has heard. Tommy Hunter’s body was found by his friends in a hedge in Burton Road, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, after he did not return home in December 2023.
Speaking at an inquest into his death on Tuesday, forensic pathologist Dr Michael Biggs said injuries to Hunter’s head would have been effectively fatal “at the point of impact”. In March 2025, Brandon Beesla admitted driving a vehicle, a Pontiac Firebird, which was in a condition likely to cause danger of injury in Burton Road on the night Hunter, 27, went missing.
Speaking at the inquest at Rutland and North Leicestershire Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, Biggs said he had “unusually” been asked to visit the scene by detectives after Hunter was found by friends. He said the civil engineer was “within some very dense bushes” by the side of the road when he was found.
When he was removed from the foliage, the pathologist told the court Hunter had suffered injuries to his left leg, which he said was likely to be the initial point of impact with the car.
A secondary injury to his head caused by the windscreen of the car would have been “essentially unsurvivable”, Biggs added.
Hunter left behind his partner, Chloe Mefford, and son Harrison
How was the collision reconstructed?
During the inquest, crash investigator Sgt Russell Davies told the court Hunter was found in a bush 20m (65.6ft) away from a scuff mark, which may have been caused by the collision. Using an Australian study dating back to the 1990s, which analysed head impacts on car windscreens similar in size to the Pontiac, Davies estimated the car was travelling between 45mph (72km/h) and 50mph (80km/h) at the time of the collision. The road had a 50mph speed limit, the inquest heard.
Taking into account how soon the driver would have been able to recognise Hunter as a pedestrian, the lack of street lighting and his reaction time, Davies said the driver would not have been able to stop in time to prevent the collision. He added there was no evidence that the driver took any evasive action before the collision.
What happened in court in 2025?
Appearing at Leicester Magistrates’ Court in 2025, Beesla, 28, was fined £2,000 and banned from driving for 12 months.
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“unsurvivable injuries”
“at the point of impact”
“unusually”
“within some very dense bushes”
“essentially unsurvivable”
