Bradford man Mason Portman killed in crash near M62

Off-duty police officers and a passing taxi driver fought to save Mason Portman’s life by performing CPR when the 21-year-old was thrown from his Seat Cupra after colliding with a fence, a road sign, two cars parked in a lay-by, and then rolling his vehicle several times, which came to rest on its roof on moorland next to the A672 Oldham Road close to the motorway slip road.

Mason, who was not wearing a seatbelt, suffered multiple injuries that proved fatal. His death was said to have been “instantaneous”.

Several members of his family, including his mother, uncle, and grandmother, were present at Bradford Coroners' Court for the resumption of the inquest into Mason’s death following the crash on December 17, 2023.

Bradford Coroners' Court (Image: Newsquest)

The inquest heard how he had decided “at the last minute” to drive to Liverpool at about 6pm on the evening of December 16, 2023, with friends for a night out.

During the course of the night at various bars, he was seen to be “drinking a bit of everything” and became noticeably drunk as his speech was slurred.

After being denied entry to a nightclub Mason began looking for his car despite one of his friends attempting to persuade him to use a taxi and removing his keys, which resulted in an argument.

Mason, who was described as being “hammered”, drove his friend to a house where they were staying and was persuaded to bed down, but minutes later he was heard running down the stairs.

His friend begged him not to go as he was not fit to drive but Mason said he was okay and drove off.

The friend later rang him and tried to get him to stop the car, but Mason refused. He also tried to keep him on the line to keep him alert. The conversation ended at about 5am on December 17.

Around an hour later Mason rang his uncle, Dale Portman, for whom he worked as a refrigeration engineer, and said he was on the motorway “being chased” by police patrol cars.

He said: “I’m on the motorway. There are X5s and all sorts on me.”

During the 40-second call, an anxious-sounding Mason said there were “loads” of police cars and that they were “all over” him.

The call ended at 6.01am and Mason exited the M62 at 6.05am. The car crashed minutes later. His uncle questioned whether Mason had “panicked” when he made the decision to turn off the M62 at junction 22.

A section of the A672 Oldham Road that was closed after the crash (Image: Google streetview)

Off-duty police officers Jamie Whiteley and Abigail Connell were among the first to reach the scene of the accident -  hitting debris in the carriageway - along with a passing taxi driver. They dialled 999 at 6.12am.

They made “desperate attempts” to resuscitate Mason, who was lying on a grass verge, using CPR. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.

A toxicology report revealed he was substantially over the legal alcohol limit, with 211mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. He was also found to have a small quantity of cocaine in his system.

The pathologist who carried out a postmortem said Mason’s injuries meant “he would not have been aware of the moment of passing away” as death would have occurred “instantaneously”.

Detective Constable Craig Riley of West Yorkshire Police’s major collision inquiry team said the moment of impact had not been captured by CCTV. There were also no eyewitnesses.

He said cameras on the M62 showed a car leaving the motorway at junction 22 at 6.05am but that it could not be proved definitively that it was Mason’s Seat.

He also said that there was no evidence to show that Mason had been chased by the police on the motorway.

Analysis of two mobile phones found near Mason’s body showed the call he made to his uncle as well as the possibility that he may have accessed Snapchat whilst driving.

However, he said there was no evidence to show he had been on the phone, or distracted, at the time of the collision.

The forensic collision investigator for West Yorkshire Police, Robert Crispin, who examined Mason’s car said it had no defects, there were no abnormalities on the road, and weather was not a factor.

He said marks on the road showed he had been travelling at “some significant speed” and that speed “was probably a factor” in Mason losing control of his car.

He said: “He is going at too high a speed for him to make the turn.

“Marks [on the road] show he is trying to steer the vehicle back onto the slip road. The marks start at the rumble strip. At that point, he is already in trouble.”

Senior Coroner Martin Fleming, who described Mason’s death as “a tragedy”, concluded that he died as a result of multiple injuries sustained in a “devastating” road traffic collision.

He said he had drunk too much, there was cocaine present in his body, and that he had ignored the protestations of his friends not to drive home.

He added: “He had no business whatsoever getting behind the wheel.

“The presence of alcohol and cocaine got in the way of his judgment. He was not thinking right.

“I find no evidence to suggest that the police had been involved in this.

“The tragedy is that it cost him his young life.”

Mr Fleming said he would write to the relevant authorities to invite them “to have another look” at the slip road off the M62 at Rishworth in response to the family’s concerns over the speed limit on the road and the lack of safety measures.

Paying tribute to her “kind, well-mannered, handsome and polite” son, who was the oldest of her children, Mason’s mother Leah described him as “a young man with a heart of gold”.

She added: “I will never get over the loss of my blue-eyed boy. We will remain a broken family until we can all be together again.”