An "amazing and devoted" dad-of-two died in a crash on his way home after meeting up with friends, an inquest heard.
Thomas 'Winnie' Evans was 34 years old when he lost control of his work's van and crashed into a large tree just off the main road between Caersws and Trefeglwys on September 16 last year.
Winnie's family and friends said his tragic death continues to be difficult to come to terms with and is devastating to everyone who knew him and to the Caersws community where he grew up and had played for the village football team.
The inquest heard tributes to Winnie including from his mother Jayne who described her son as a "wicked, fun and very popular kid" in school, and that "nobody had a bad word to say about him".
"Everyone remembers his smile, which made them smile," Jayne said. "He is missed every day and he is loved."
An inquest at Pontypridd Coroners' Court heard today (Friday, October 28) that after work Winnie, described as a "very good" groundworker by his boss, had been drinking pints of lager with friends at The Buck Hotel in Caersws.
The Buck Hotel, Caersws
Friends told the inquest that he was happy and nothing had stood out about his behaviour that day. One friend said that Winnie told him that his brother would be picking him up that night.
Winnie got into a silver Ford Transit van and travelled towards Trefeglwys after leaving Caersws at around 9.40pm. A man said he saw the van driving "erratically", which assistant coroner Dr Sarah-Jane Richards said was likely due to excess alcohol.
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The roads were dry and the visibility was clear when Winnie's van veered off a steep section of the B4569 road, into a barbed wire fence before crashing into two trees. The coroner said Winnie was found not wearing a seatbelt and had suffered a "catastrophic" head injury. He was pronounced dead at the scene by a first responder.
A post mortem result of Winnie's blood found that he was "significantly" more than twice the drink drive limit, and had suffered a large cut to his head and bruising to his body.
A report by police concluded that the main cause of the crash were the actions or inactions of the driver due to impairment under the influence of alcohol and losing control of the Ford Transit while travelling along the B4569.
Winnie's former partner Natasha Breese told the inquest that it was out of character for him to drive while over the alcohol limit.
"I was absolutely devastated," she said. "Winnie was against drink driving but his head was clearly not in the right place.
"I don't believe for a minute that he would have done that to his boys. They were his world. He is deeply missed by us all."
The coroner concluded that Winnie had died as a result of a road traffic collision on September 16, 2021.
"My condolences to the family and thank you for attending today," Dr Richards said as she closed the inquest.
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