12:20 pm, June 25, 2026
A car salesman died after he careered off the road and hit a tree in a 100mph crash, an inquest has heard.
Ryan Featherstone worked in the sales team at Drayton Motors in Lincolnshire and was testing a potential route for customers when he lost control of a grey BYD Seal last December.
After coming off the road on the B1184 Hale Lane, near Boston, the 28-year-old ploughed into a tree with such force that it snapped.
The emergency services were called to the incident but Featherstone was pronounced dead at the scene
An inquest into his tragic death has now taken place at the Myle Cross Centre in Lincoln, where it was heard that the salesman was driving the BYD for the first time.
Coroner Hannah Berry was told that Featherstone had been estimated to have been travelling at over 100mph, shortly before the crash, with a suspected top speed of 106mph.
Witnesses described seeing the car ‘weaving’ before it veered off the wet road and into the tree.
LincolnshireLive reports that a post-mortem examination showed he died as a result of multiple traumatic injuries.
After hearing all the evidence, Berry concluded: ‘The collision occurred due to Mr Featherstone driving too fast for the road and weather conditions.’
Addressing his family directly, she aded: I am really so very sorry for your loss.
‘I can’t imagine how difficult these last few months have been. I’m so so sorry.’
Following his death, Featherstone’s family issued a statement via Lincolnshire Police in which they paid tribute to a ‘big personality’ who ‘will forever be sorely missed’.
They said: ‘It’s hard to put into words our grief of losing Ryan.
He was the type of guy who would go out of his way for the people he loved and cared about and everyone who met him instantly loved him.
‘Ryan had a big personality; he could chat your ear off, lit up every room he walked into with a laugh and a joke and was well known for being a wind-up merchant. Then there was also a sensitive side to him.
‘He was a fiercely loyal friend and was the one you’d turn to for support if you needed it. His generosity, not just with his things, but his time, is one of the things we’ll miss most about him.
‘Ryan will forever be sorely missed by our family and all those who knew him.’
