A DRIVER could not have avoided a collision in which a teenager from Chepstow was killed, a coroner was told.

Nathaniel Smith died after a collision with a car on the A466 in Chepstow, on June 4 last year.

The 17-year-old was crossing the Wye Valley Link Road when he ran into the side of a Mercedes travelling towards the M48.

An inquest into his death was concluded today at Newport Coroner's Court.

Senior coroner for Gwent Caroline Saunders heard evidence from the driver of the vehicle which collided with Nathaniel.

He had been travelling along the southbound carriageway of the A466 when he saw Nathaniel emerge from the hedgerow along the road.

In a statement he said: "I became aware of someone to my left emerging from the hedgerow.

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"They were about 40 or 50 metres away. I could see the person was running.

"He turned his head towards my direction. I thought he was going to change direction.

"I had lifted off the accelerator but had not really changed speed, as I thought he was going to turn off.

"The next thing I knew he had hit the passenger side of my car and the windscreen shattered.

"Since the incident I have been going over the moment a thousand times in my mind."

Paramedics attended but were unable to revive Nathaniel, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

A toxicology report found low levels of cocaine in his bloodstream, as well as high levels of cannabis, which suggested recent use.

Gwent Police investigated the incident following rumours that Nathaniel was chased onto the road. But PC Gerwyn Harris said CCTV from surrounding areas had been viewed, and there was no evidence of that being the case.

He added: "Within the scope of the footage there is nobody else with Nathaniel.

"There were a number of statements taken and in those, nobody refers to Nathaniel being with anybody at that time."

The coroner also heard from PC Rhys Dickinson, who investigated the collision itself.

PC Dickinson said investigations showed the car was travelling between 41 and 49mph, and given the distance that Nathaniel was from the road, the driver would not have had sufficient time to slow down.

Summing up, Ms Saunders said: "On the afternoon of Thursday June 4, Nathaniel was with a group of friends.

"At 5.30pm he left that group to meet with two people, where there was an exchange between them.

"Nathaniel leaves and heads back in the direction he came from, and at no time is he seen with anyone else after this point.

"He emerges from a hedgerow which runs along the A466. He starts to run and runs into the side of a car travelling southbound.

"The driver, who was driving within the speed limit, had no chance to react and Nathaniel was hit. He died at the scene.

"The evidence has not helped me identify why he ran into the road.

"There was evidence he took cocaine and cannabis, but insufficient evidence that this contributed to his death."

Conclusion: Misadventure.