An inquest has heard how a Monmouth teenager died in a car crash two years ago.

The Hereford Coroner gave a narrative verdict on the death of Jack McKenzie after hearing four days of evidence.

The 18-year-old had been travelling in a Vauxhall Corsa driven by friend Joel Jones on 3rd September 2010 travelling on the B4348 towards Kingstone in Herefordshire.

"The Corsa collided with a baler being towed by a tractor. The tractor was travelling in the opposite direction. The collision caused the Corsa to roll onto its side," said coroner Roland Wooderson.

"A very short time later, the Corsa was struck by another vehicle travelling in the same direction as the Corsa. The other vehicle was a Fiat Punto.

"The tractor's lights were on dipped beam. A number of witnesses described the lights as being bright. The lights met the relevant legal standard and were not faulty in any way.

"Mr McKenzie died, his having suffered a severe head injury. He died as a result of the second collision. All vehicles were within their respective speed limits."

After the crash, analysis of Mr Jones's blood tested negative for alcohol but positive for cocaine and cannabis.

"Another report concluded that it was not possible to say what level of THC, the active constituent of cannabis, was present in blood at the time of the incident," added Mr Wooderson.

"Neither could it be said whether or not the Corsa driver was under the influence of cocaine at the time of incident."

Mr McKenzie's mum, Fiona McKenzie, had earlier told the inquest: "I think it is important we know what happened on that evening.

"Jack met up with Joel at about 5pm after Joel finished work.

"Earlier Jack had phoned me and asked for £200 to be transferred to him to pay rent, he told me. We argued but he said he was 18 and old enough to be trusted.

"That £200 was withdrawn in Hereford and Jack got the bus to Monmouth, where Jack and Joel spent the Friday evening together, and then we get to the crash.

"Jack went from Monmouth in Joel's car to Anthony and Maureen's house [Joel's parents] to pick up the last of his things as he was moving to Hereford.

"The next thing I knew was at 4am when I was woken by my middle son Harry saying 'mum, mum, Jack's dead'.

"He said a tractor had been involved and I went into zombie mode. We went to the airport, booked flights and made our way to Hereford.

"The next morning I asked my oldest son, Tom, what happened. He said he saw Jack and Joel before the accident but they didn't stay long, and he had shared a joint with Jack.

"I read Jack's bank statement – he had withdrawn money from a bank in Monmouth at 10.10pm. I then spoke to PC Kerfoot, who said a plastic bag containing drugs had been found in Jack's jacket at the post mortem.

"The implications devasted me. I knew he smoked cannabis from time to time and now I had to take on board the fact Jack was dealing, or so it seemed.

"I was given Jack's mobile phone by PC Kerfoot, and it was an education in the slang our young kids use – I'm not great at text messages.

"Jack was meeting someone to supply them with drugs to the value of £200. Joel must have known about this because he was driving.

"Jack was not a boy who could remember phone numbers – he had a slight learning difficulty – but that evening he had dialled 10 or more numbers not stored in his phone. This was to flag up to potential buyers visiting the Jailhouse [club, in Hereford], that night that Jack had the drugs.

"The fact that Jack took an extra £40 out that night meant the £200 had disappeared that night and he did it in order to go drinking with Joel, which he did at the Queen's Head.

"I don't know the words people use but they were up for it, ready for a Friday night.

"The irony is, after Jack was killed, somebody text him trying to get drugs off him."

Mrs McKenzie told the Beacon: "The verdict has gone as far as it can with the context of a coroner's court.

"It points to a direct link between alcohol and drug use and driving deaths.

"I feel frustrated and very angry that I have had to fight for two years to get this much out in the open."

She added that since her son's death, two members of the Herefordshire road policing team have undergone drug recognition training.

Mrs McKenzie also praised LawWorks, the charity that helped her get legal representation for the inquest.

"They said I was the first person to apply for help at an inquest and I got a lawyer with experience of inquests," she said.

"Many other victim's families get no representation at inquests because of cost."