'Victim may have panicked'-inquest told

Coroner John Lecky recorded that Kieran McDonald (28) died of a head injury.

Mr McDonald veered through a gap in the tyre wall during a warm up lap at the Go Pro Kart circuit near Kilrea on July 10, 2010. He collided with a parked car.

The young father was "in good form" on the day out with colleagues from WD Meats. Each member had already completed two practice races and organisers were marshalling semi-finalists onto the grid following a warm-up lap.

Drivers ahead of Mr McDonald approached the start line at a suitably slow speed, according to a number of witnesses, but he was said to be travelling too fast as he rounded the final bend before leaving the circuit.

Race track co-owner Richard Patterson told the inquest that Mr McDonald may have been travelling at a speed of 20 - 25 mph.

"He could have been going faster, but he should have been going an awful lot slower," said Mr Patterson, who administered CPR at the crash scene.

Emmerson Callendar, a mechanical engineer attached to Northern Ireland's Forensic Service, said an examination of the kart proved it had been "in good condition".

"The brakes were working, even with the throttle fully open," he said.

The Coroner, John Lecky, expressed sympathy to Mr McDonald's family and recorded the finding that he died of a head injury sustained in a go-kart crash.

"The only explanation I can think of is that panic set in," he said.