Reiss Jarvis, the BBC actor known for his role in the 2017 drama Murdered for Being Different, was killed in a car crash with another driver who “lost control” while speeding on an unlit road.
The 21-year-old was in the front seat of his friend’s Mazda 3 and suffered multiple “unsurvivable” injuries in the crash on November 10 last year.
An inquest into his death, held on Wednesday at Rochdale Coroner’s Court, heard that Mr Jarvis’ friend, Karl Young lost control of his car while driving at “excessive speed” at around 8.40pm that night, according to The Daily Mail.
The vehicle then veered off the remote road, hitting a tree and plunging down an embankment.
Mr Jarvis was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mr Young was pulled from the vehicle and taken to hospital, where he later passed away.
The pair were returning home to Oldham, in Greater Manchester, after going to a West Yorkshire fish shop.
Our thoughts go to the family of Reiss Jarvis (21) & the driver of the vehicle, both were killed last night in a RTA in Delph, Reiss played Michael Gorman in The @sophie_charity Lancaster Murdered for being Different, TV Drama, which was based from our facilities .RIP💔 pic.twitter.com/xcjQo0kRKj
— Bacup Borough FC (@BacupBoro) November 11, 2021
Police Sergeant Neil Pennington, representing Greater Manchester Police’s Serious Crash Investigation Unit, told the inquest that it was discovered through analysis of the car’s airbag module that it had been travelling at 110 miles per hour (about 117 kilometres per hour).
However, the speed limit for the road is 50 miles an hour (approximately 80 kph), and the car was travelling at 58 miles per hour (about 93 kph) when it hit the tree.
“At the speed they were driving at, if anything did happen or a loss of control were to occur, it would be very hard for them to regain control of that vehicle,” Sergeant Pennington said.
According to pathologist Dr Abdul Ganjifrockwala’s post-mortem examination, Mr Jarvis’ cause of death was confirmed to be from “multiple fatal injuries as a result of a road traffic collision”.
Sergeant Pennington told the inquest there was no evidence to suggest another vehicle was involved in the crash.
In a statement, Mr Jarvis’ father, Darryl, described his son as “the life and soul of the party” and said his death has taken a “terrible toll” on his health.
Assistant coroner Michael Salt concluded that Mr Jarvis died as a result of a road traffic collision.
“This case highlights again the dangers of excessive speed on the roads,” he added.
“On this occasion a very talented and loyal young man has lost his life and the only explanation we have is one of loss of control of the vehicle through excessive speed.”
Image: Twitter
This article first appeared on OverSixty.