A WIDOW has paid tribute to her "soulmate" who died after he was run over by a lorry walking home from the Leeds Festival.
Andrew Kennedy, 27, photographed right with his wife, a senior recruiter at Covance in Harrogate, had been at the festival with childhood sweetheart Kimberley before they were split up on the evening of August 28 last year.They both then independently made the decision to walk home from the huge event at Bramham Park near Wetherby to their home in York – but Andrew then stumbled into the path of a passing lorry while walking along a path which was partially blocked by undergrowth.Shocked Kimberley came across the aftermath of the accident on the A659 near Tadcaster and her husband was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary, where he died with his wife by his side. A coroner has now described the case as "one of the most tragic I've come across."Kimberley told an inquest at Selby Magistrates Court: "We had been together since we were 15 and we were inseparable. He was not just my husband, he was my soulmate."We did everything together, we went to university together, part of me is missing. Me and my family were always going to love him. He was just a really nice person, he was very genuine and extremely intelligent. He would do anything for anybody, particularly for myself and his family."The inquest heard how the pair became separated at around 8.30pm and decided to make the same long walk home, a distance of around 15 miles, but Andrew set off first.Traffic Constable Stuart Langford, who investigated the accident, said the stretch of footpath where Andrew was hit was overgrown. Because of this it was possible he stumbled in to the side of the lorry as it passed, suffering fatal head injuries.Toxicology tests showed the music fan had been drinking at the festival but there was no suggestion it had played a part in his death.Recording a verdict of accidental death, Coroner Rob Turnbull told Andrew's grieving family: "I can see no evidence that this vehicle was being driven anything other than a normal manner and there is no evidence that the vehicle struck Mr Kennedy rather than the other way round."We will probably never know why Mr Kennedy stumbled or came into contact with that vehicle, but I note the concerns about the maintenance of the footpath which may have resulted in Mr Kennedy leaving the footpath and walking on the carriageway or having to walk on rough ground."The stretch of overgrown path where the accident happened has since been cleared by North Yorkshire County Council.A spokesman for the council said: "The footpath that runs along the A659 to the west of Tadcaster is a little used footpath which consequently had become overgrown with vegetation with the passage of time."Since the fatal accident at the site the footpath has since been cleared of vegetation."
Andrew Kennedy, 27, photographed right with his wife, a senior recruiter at Covance in Harrogate, had been at the festival with childhood sweetheart Kimberley before they were split up on the evening of August 28 last year.They both then independently made the decision to walk home from the huge event at Bramham Park near Wetherby to their home in York – but Andrew then stumbled into the path of a passing lorry while walking along a path which was partially blocked by undergrowth.Shocked Kimberley came across the aftermath of the accident on the A659 near Tadcaster and her husband was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary, where he died with his wife by his side. A coroner has now described the case as "one of the most tragic I've come across."Kimberley told an inquest at Selby Magistrates Court: "We had been together since we were 15 and we were inseparable. He was not just my husband, he was my soulmate."We did everything together, we went to university together, part of me is missing. Me and my family were always going to love him. He was just a really nice person, he was very genuine and extremely intelligent. He would do anything for anybody, particularly for myself and his family."The inquest heard how the pair became separated at around 8.30pm and decided to make the same long walk home, a distance of around 15 miles, but Andrew set off first.Traffic Constable Stuart Langford, who investigated the accident, said the stretch of footpath where Andrew was hit was overgrown. Because of this it was possible he stumbled in to the side of the lorry as it passed, suffering fatal head injuries.Toxicology tests showed the music fan had been drinking at the festival but there was no suggestion it had played a part in his death.Recording a verdict of accidental death, Coroner Rob Turnbull told Andrew's grieving family: "I can see no evidence that this vehicle was being driven anything other than a normal manner and there is no evidence that the vehicle struck Mr Kennedy rather than the other way round."We will probably never know why Mr Kennedy stumbled or came into contact with that vehicle, but I note the concerns about the maintenance of the footpath which may have resulted in Mr Kennedy leaving the footpath and walking on the carriageway or having to walk on rough ground."The stretch of overgrown path where the accident happened has since been cleared by North Yorkshire County Council.A spokesman for the council said: "The footpath that runs along the A659 to the west of Tadcaster is a little used footpath which consequently had become overgrown with vegetation with the passage of time."Since the fatal accident at the site the footpath has since been cleared of vegetation."
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