THE death of a driver who was involved in a four-vehicle crash near Abergavenny has been ruled as accidental by a coroner.

David Charles Price, of Abergavenny, died in the University Hospital of Wales following the crash on the A465 Hereford Road earlier this year.

An inquest into the 63-year-old’s death, held at Newport Coroner’s Court today, heard the driver drifted into oncoming traffic on March 30.

The crash happened at about 3.30pm and statements from all drivers were read at the inquest.

The inquest heard Mr Price’s Chevrolet glanced off Steven Moreton’s Mercedes before hitting a Toyota Yaris driven by his son Christopher Moreton.

Mr Price’s car was then described as spinning and striking a pickup truck, driven by the owner of the Skirrid Mountain Garage in Abergavenny, Nigel Davies, before coming to a halt.

Mr Davies said the crash “happened in a flash” and recalled “debris being thrown into air like an “explosion”.

Police, paramedics and an air ambulance attended the scene and drivers Christopher Moreton and David Charles Price were hospitalised.

A post mortem said Mr Price’s principle cause of death was a traumatic spinal cord injury.

Mr Moreton was also treated at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff for injuries including a broken pelvis and a puncture to the lung.

PC Christopher Goddard, from Gwent Police’s forensic collision investigation unit, said that speed and mechanical defects were not factors in the crash and there was no suggestion of overtaking.

Ann Price told the inquest her late husband had lost sight in one eye from a hedging accident and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2012.

Senior coroner for Gwent, David Bowen, ruled Mr Price’s death as accidental, noted he was licensed to drive and said his wife felt “perfectly safe” whenever she was in the vehicle with him.

“It is inconceivable that he would have deliberately chosen to drive into the path of an oncoming vehicle,” he added.