THE death of a 13-year-old on the A127 was an accident, a coroner has ruled.

Joseph Sheridan was killed after being hit by a car while he was attempting to cross the dual- carriageway on February 15.

The inquest also found that some of the street lights along the road being out was not a contributing factor in the collision.

Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray, who presided over the inquest at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court yesterday, expressed sadness at the death of the young teen.

She said: “This was a sudden and unexplained death.

“It was a tragic accident and I would look to say the court send its sympathies to the family of Joseph Sheridan. He was clearly a much-loved family member.”

The inquest heard that the youngster, who lived in Crays Hill, near Billericay, had been attempting to cross the road near to the Oak Lane junction.

He was struck “a glancing blow” by a BMW that was in the offside lane of the Southend-bound carriageway, landing in a nearby layby. The BMW suffered damage to its nearside bumper, wing and also its passenger door.

Evidence from forensic collision inspector PC Alan Barlow, who attended the scene after the crash, said there was little the driver could have done to avoid the collision due to it being at night and the short amount of time they would have had to react before the collision.

No action is being taken by police against the driver.

PC Barlow said the fact that some street lights were out along the road would not have increased the risk of the collision as the youngster was wearing dark clothing.

PC Barlow said: “Essex County Council is looking into remedial work and available options to see what can be done to prevent an incident like this happening again.”

After the fatal crash, protesters calling for a footbridge to be installed blocked the road for five hours.