By Emeka Blast 
Mercedes Canal Tragedy: Inquest Reveals Father and Son Drowned on Test Drive
Here are the key findings from this afternoon’s inquest:
🚗 What happened
- On 6 January 2024, David Walsh (40) and his son Cameron (16), a promising youth footballer, were taking a Mercedes GLC 300 on a test drive near Tetney Lock Road, Grimsby, Lincolnshire.
- Emergency services were called at 1:38 pm, after witnesses reported the vehicle “snaking” and then seeing it fleet off the road, strike a telegraph pole, and plunge roof-first into a canal
Inquest findings
- CCTV footage and testimony indicated the Mercedes was being driven too fast for road conditions, swerving across the narrow, uneven, 60 mph single‑track route
- Witness Roberta Smith said the car appeared to go airborne before landing upside-down in the canal
- The vehicle had been hired from a Mercedes dealership and was free from mechanical faults
- Forensic experts concluded the crash was due to excessive speed and loss of control, not driver inexperience or car malfunction
Tragic aftermath
- Fire crews broke a window to access the now-submerged, locked vehicle; father and son had been underwater up to 45 minutes before being retrieved
- Both were officially pronounced dead at 2:58 pm from drowning
- The Assistant Coroner, Marianne Johnson, concluded that David Walsh was most likely driving and that their deaths resulted from a road‑traffic collision. She announced a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report to address causal factors
Context and tributes
- Cameron was actively sending snaps and messages just minutes before the crash—one friend noted his dad “liked the car they were test-driving”
- The family described them as “two beautiful people… full of life,” and Grimsby Town FC mourned Cameron as “a much-loved figure” within their academy
Summary
- Date: 6 January 2024
- Vehicle: Mercedes GLC 300, hired from dealership
- Cause: Excessive speed, loss of control, collision with pole, vehicle entered canal
- Mechanics: No defects found
- Inquest ruling: Road‑traffic collision causing drowning; likely driver was father; PFD to follow
This tragic case has prompted authorities to investigate potential safety improvements on the road and consider dealership test‑drive procedures. The upcoming PFD report should shed light on prevention measures.
Let me know if you’d like updates on the PFD outcomes or insights into road safety reforms.
