The death of a popular Carmarthenshire man was caused by a road traffic collision, an inquest has found.

Carmarthenshire Coroners Court made the ruling on Friday, June 24, into the death of 40-year-old Arwel Davies from Llanwrda.

The coroners court heard from collision investigation officer David Stacey of Dyfed Powys Police that the collision happened around 12.23pm on Thursday, July 8, 2021, on the A40 trunk road between Carmarthen and Llandeilo, close to the Cottage Inn.

Mr Stacey said that at the time of the collision, the weather and road conditions were good and would not have been a factor to cause the crash.

Mr Davies - who was a popular figure at Llandovery RFC, where he had captained the second team and coached his son's age grade - was driving a DAF lorry at the time of the crash and heading towards Carmarthen.

The second vehicle involved in the collision was a white Ford Transit Tipper, which was driven by Wyn Williams, 62, from Carmarthen, who also died.

MORE NEWS

Mr Stacy said: “Both vehicles belonged to different local businesses and were loaded with goods.” Mr Davies was carrying steel girder sections.

He continued that both vehicles were weighed to ensure that they were under the maximum weight limit, and both were.

Both vehicles were also checked for any defects, but none were found.

Mr Davies’ vehicle was fitted with a tachograph which showed that there was no excessive speed or driver fatigue due to excessive driving hours.

No evidence was found that either driver had been using a mobile phone and toxicology reports were clear.

A post-mortem on July 13, 2021, concluded that Mr Davies died from multiple injuries as a result of a road traffic collision.

Mr Stacey said that the investigation found that Mr Williams’ Ford Transit Tipper had crossed the central line on the A40, leading to the head-on collision with Mr Davies’ DAF lorry. This was determined by markings on the road and witness reports.

Coroner Mark Layton declared the cause of death to be a road traffic collision caused by Mr Williams’ Ford Transit crossing the central line ‘for unknown reasons.’

READ MORE

At the time of his death, Arwel's family spoke of his "attitude to live life to the full."

A family statement said: "No words can describe the impact Arwel had on the lives of many, especially his adored wife Laura, his beautiful children Owen and Sofia, his proud father Eirian and his devoted brother and sister Ioan and Catrin.

"Our lives will never be the same following Arwel’s tragic passing, however we can hold on to the special and fond memories that Arwel has left us with, his infectious smile, his sparkling blue eyes, and his attitude to live life to the full.

"It has truly been a comfort to his family and friends the support received from our local community, the rugby community and the hot air balloon family we had become, since we lost Arwel. He would be truly humbled by everybody’s kind words."

Arwel was a successful businessman who ran the family-run firm Adeilad Cladding, which his father started over 40 years ago.

A keen sportsman, Arwel was well-known at Llandovery RFC as a loyal player and supporter.

He began as a youth player before moving on to senior rugby at the club, playing for both the first and second teams.

He also took on the role of a Junior Drovers coach and was coaching the under 9s team, where his son Owen played.

Arwel also followed in the footsteps of his father flying a hot air balloon across the Towy Valley.

"Arwel provided many family members and friends with the opportunity of a flight of a lifetime," the family statement said. "He achieved so much in his 40 years, we are all so incredibly proud of him.

"Heaven has gained a true gentleman."