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Search for4.52pm - Tragic county athlete was killed after night out
14:31 - 07-August-2008
The Hash House Harrier had been drinking at the Stirrup Cup in Bisley with other running group members.
The 53-year-old left the pub and started walking along the B4070 in the small hours of November 10 last year - even though he was booked to stay the night.
He was hit by a white Vauxhall van driven by Sebastian Ciercierski, the inquest in Gloucester heard.
Gloucestershire Coroner Alan Crickmore recorded a verdict of accidental death on Mr Froud, known as 'Sparky', of Church Road, Churchdown.
Friend David Bayliss told the inquest he had organised a run that evening for about 25 club members which started at the Stirrup Cup and ended there for a meal at about 9.50pm.
His partner, Alison McQuater, drove him home at around 1.45am.
They saw a white van parked on the left side of the road just before The Camp and a man flagged them down.
In broken English, he told them that he had hit someone.
Ms McQuater said she recognised Mr Froud lying on the roadside.
"He did not have a pulse in his neck," she said, adding that he was wearing a black long-sleeved sweatshirt with Sparky written on the back.
Mr Ciercierski told police at interview he was dazzled by the headlights of an oncoming vehicle - possibly a 4x4 - which had both fog lights and a main beam illuminated.
As he passed the vehicle, he suddenly became aware of a pedestrian, but couldn't avoid him.
A post mortem examination on Mr Froud, carried out by Dr Keith McCarthy, showed the cause of death was multiple injuries. He had 200mg of alcohol per deci-litre of blood - two-and-a -half times the legal limit to drive.
Collision investigator Malcolm Shute said Mr Froud had been wearing dark clothing, which would have been difficult to see at night.
He said it was not known why Mr Froud had left the pub as he had arranged to stay the night there.
Mr Crickmore said he was sure Mr Ciercierski had been dazzled by the oncoming vehicle and "had hardly any time to react to the presence" of Mr Froud in the carriageway.
"This is a tragic accident and I'm going to record a verdict that Mr Froud died an accidental death."
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