A MAN listening to music on his headphones died after being hit by a truck just metres from his home, an inquest heard.

Patrick Casey, 26, of The Pastures, was killed on the A64 at Sherburn, near Malton, 400 metres from his home, when he was hit by a heavy goods vehicle.

Scarborough Magistrates Court was told in a statement by Polish truck driver Grzegorz Borzuczek that he had made a delivery to the McCains factory at Eastfield, near Scarborough, and was returning to Dover when the accident happened on June 19.

He had been driving through Sherburn when “suddenly a man jumped out of the bushes”.

Mr Borzuczek said: “I had no time to react at all. The man jumped, not ran. I braked heavily. I couldn’t believe it – I couldn’t avoid hitting him.”

A witness, Graham Dawes, of Old Malton Road, Staxton, said he was driving home when he saw the incident. He said: “This man just seemed to appear from the bushes from nowhere. He ran out – it all happened in a split second. The lorry could not avoid him. I cannot see how the driver was to blame.”

A friend, Kathleen McEwan, said Mr Casey suffered from depression at times and had made attempts in the past to take his own life.

The North Yorkshire East Coroner, Michael Oakley, said Mr Casey had died from extensive head injuries and tests showed he had 204 mgs of alcohol per 100 ml of blood.

Traffic Constable Paul Davenport said the lorry had been driving at only 23mph when the accident happened and Mr Casey was using earphones from his mobile phone.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Oakley, said it was likely that Mr Casey had been listening to the mobile radio and had also been drinking earlier which would have compromised him crossing the road.