Father, 58, who died after crashing £150,000 Lamborghini during disabled son's 21st birthday treat 'could have lived if he'd worn seatbelt'

A father-of-four who died while taking his disabled son for a birthday drive in a Lamborghini supercar on a runway might have lived if he had fastened his seatbelt, an inquest heard.


Graham Padmore, 58, from Northenden, Greater Manchester, was celebrating the 21st birthday of his son Mark, who has cerebral palsy, when he ‘ran out of runway’ at Woodford Aerodrome near Stockport.


Mr Padmore drove the £150,000 Lamborghini Gallardo convertible through two fences before landing upside-down in a farmyard.


The inquest at Stockport Coroners' Court yesterday heard the car reached speeds of up to 110mph but had slowed to about 60mph before the crash.



Graham Padmore and his disabled son Mark who were in a Lamborghini crash. Mr Padmore, 58, suffered serious head and chest injuries and later died in hospital





Mr Padmore was celebrating the 21st birthday of his son Mark, who has cerebral palsy, when he 'ran out of runway' at Woodford Aerodrome near Stockport, Greater Manchester. He drove it through two fences before it landed upside-down

Mr Padmore, who worked for the Co-operative bank, was hurled 30ft out of the car and suffered serious head and chest injuries in the crash last June.


He was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital where he died four days later surrounded by his family. Mark suffered minor injuries.

Coroner John Pollard, who recorded a verdict of accidental death due to multiple injuries, said: 'It’s possible this might not have been a fatal case had Mr Padmore been wearing a seatbelt.'




Mr Padmore’s widow, Georgina, 55, told the inquest: 'Graham was a careful and considerate driver who would never have done anything to harm Mark.

'He was very cautious and he always wore his seatbelt. He was insistent that everybody else in the car should wear their seatbelts too.

'All I can think is he thought he was going to get out of the car again before he set off and forgot to put it on.


'He was a family man who loved and lived for his children and would do anything to keep them happy and cared for.'




The inquest at Stockport Coroners' Court yesterday heard the car reached speeds of up to 110mph but had slowed to about 60mph before the crash

The inquest heard Mr Padmore and his son would often hire cars to celebrate birthdays.

They hired the Lamborghini for three days from Alpha Drive Ltd and arranged with James Fletcher, PR consultant for Avro Heritage which operates the runway, to use it for a ‘one-off’ treat on June 25.


Mr and Mrs Padmore, Mark and their two daughters travelled to the aerodrome, where the family gathered at a midway point to watch the pair drive past.


Mrs Padmore said she saw her husband and son looking happy with the roof down as they made their way to the end of the runway before turning and passing them at about 100mph.

'There was no screaming, no braking, nothing - we just didn’t know what had happened'


Mr Fletcher recalled remarking on their speed as they passed.


He said: 'I said he should have been braking at that point. I could tell he wasn’t because the brake lights weren’t on.


'There is a mirage effect on the runway and they kind of just disappeared. There was no screaming, no braking, nothing - we just didn’t know what had happened.'


Mr Fletcher followed tyre tracks off the runway, over grass, through a concrete barrier and down a 20ft embankment, where he saw the car upside-down and Mr Padmore lying on his back, semi-conscious and trying to sit up.


He phoned the security hut to get paramedics to the scene.




Mr Padmore and his son hired the Lamborghini for three days and arranged with James Fletcher, PR consultant for Avro Heritage which operates the runway (above), to use it for a 'one-off' treat

He said: 'I was scared the car was going to explode. Mark was held in a cocoon-like state in the passenger seat. I was trying to reassure him as I helped him out.'


PC Mark Dickman, a reconstruction officer, said the car was in good condition and there were no signs of emergency braking on the runway.


He added: 'In a case like this where the driver is not used to the speed, they don’t know how long it takes to stop. You can become distracted and not realise how much runway is left.'


Mr Fletcher said he had numerous previous requests to use the runway for drives but had always refused.


Mr Pollard acknowledged the car was in good order and praised Mr Fletcher for assisting after the crash.