BBC actor, 21, killed along with pal, 34, after driver raced at 110mph before ‘losing control’ and hitting tree
A BBC actor was killed in a crash after a speeding driver "lost control" and hit a tree, an inquest heard.
Reiss Jarvis, 21, suffered "unsurvivable" injuries from the smash on the outskirts of Oldham, Greater Manchester.
The actor who starred in a BBC crime drama was a front-seat passenger in a Mazda 3 when it careered off Huddersfield Road in Delph.
The car then hit a tree and plunged down an embankment.
Reiss was pronounced dead at the scene while the driver, Karl Young, was taken to hospital where he later died.
Karl, 34, lost control of the vehicle while travelling at "excessive speed" along a remote and unlit stretch of road at around 8:40pm, Rochdale Coroner’s Court heard today.
The pair were returning to Oldham after visiting a fish shop in Marsden, West Yorkshire, on November 10 2021.
A passer-by called 999 and emergency services arrived at the scene shortly after.
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Sergeant Neil Pennington of Greater Manchester Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit told the hearing that analysis of the vehicle's airbag showed the Mazda had been travelling at 110mph just seconds before the crash.
This was more than double the 50mph speed limit.
When the car hit the tree it was travelling at 58mph.
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Sergeant Pennington told the hearing that officers had examined the vehicle and had not found any "significant defects" that could have contributed to the crash.
He said there was no evidence to suggest any other vehicles were involved in the incident.
Sergeant Pennington said: "At the speed they were driving at, if anything did happen or a loss of control were to occur, it would be very hard for them to regain control of that vehicle."
A post-mortem examination carried out by pathologist Dr Abdul Ganjifrockwala revealed the cause of Reiss's death as "multiple fatal injuries as a result of a road traffic collision".
Toxicology results showed that Mr Young had not been impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash.
The inquest was told that Reiss and Mr Young had been friends for about six years and were working together at the Grill at Number 20 in Oldham town centre at the time of their deaths.
Mr Young owned the restaurant while Reiss was the bar manager.
Reiss, of Beech Avenue, Oldham, had previously worked as a TV actor and had starred in the 2017 crime drama Murdered for Being Different, which is based on the murder of Sophie Lancaster in Bacup, Lancashire.
Reiss's dad Darryl told the court that his son had auditioned for other roles, as well training as a barber as a "fallback".
In a statement, Darryl described his son as "the life and soul of the party".
His father recalled his boy's love of music and how he would write and compose his own songs.
He told of how Reiss's death had taken a "terrible toll" on his health and said he had since suffered a stroke.
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Assistant coroner Michael Salt concluded that Reiss died as a result of a "road traffic collision". He added: "This case highlights again the dangers of excessive speed on the roads.
"On this occasion a very talented and loyal young man has lost his life and the only explanation we have is one of loss of control of the vehicle through excessive speed." An inquest into the death of Mr Young is due to take place on Wednesday.
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