A junior doctor could have been suffering from fatigue when he swerved into oncoming traffic and crashed  his car after finishing a night shift.

Dr Jyothis Manalayil, of Thomasson Court, Heaton, was  just 27 when he died in the crash near Larbreck in Lancashire on June 10 this year.

The tragic accident happened when the popular doctor finished at Lancaster Royal Infirmary Hospital after his night shift to go to Royal Victoria Hospital Blackpool to do a teaching session with medical students.

Blackpool and Fylde Coroners Court heard how Dr Manalayil had been driving along the A586 Garstang Road towards Blackpool at around 10.30am when his car, a black Kia, drove into the opposite lane on a bend, crashing into an oncoming Range Rover.

Eyewitness Thomas Evans had been driving on the other side of the road behind the Range Rover.

He told the inquest he had been driving behind the Range Rover with his partner, Jessica Slattery, when he saw the black Kia swerve onto their side of the road towards the Range Rover.

Mr Evans then saw the Range Rover swerve towards the opposite lane to avoid the Kia, but the Kia swerved back into its own lane, only to hit the kerb and bounce back and hit the Range Rover.

After performing an emergency stop, he went over to Dr Manalayil’s car and performed emergency resuscitation on him, managing to make him breathe every 10 seconds or so.

He judged that the Range Rover was travelling under the speed limit of 50mph on the road.

Paramedics then arrived at the scene, including Patrick Selby, who was working as a rapid response senior paramedic at the time and gave evidence to the inquest.

He told how first responders were already at the scene when he arrived, and that Dr Manalayil had suffered cardiac arrest.

The paramedics tried various methods to stabilise him, including advanced airway management.

But the inquest heard despite their efforts, Dr Manalayil was pronounced dead at the scene at 11.14am.

Pathologist Dr Darek Golka ruled Dr Manalayil’s medical cause of death as internal haemorrhage, in turn caused by blunt trauma to the chest, in turn caused by a road traffic accident.

The pathologist told how he suffered ‘significant blood loss’, He described it as a fatal event and that the injuries suffered caused ‘catastrophic damage’.

PC Matthew Burn of the forensic collision investigation unit, who investigated the crash, found that Dr Manalayil had not been wearing his seatbelt during the crash.

He told the inquest how electronic data recordings extracted from the car showed how Dr Manalayil had not been breaking the speed limit, travelling at 39mph.

However, the data for the steering showed a turning angle of 125-140 degrees to the left one second before the crash, being ‘indicative of panic steering’ according to PC Burn.

PC Burn also found no evidence of the car bouncing off the kerb.

Coroner Alan Wilson concluded by ruling Dr Manalayil’s death was a result of a road traffic collision.

He said: “He didn’t seem to be driving at excessive speed.

“That gives two possibilities, that he simply was distracted by thinking about something else an at the wrong time lost concentration, or that he fell asleep.

“We know he is a junior doctor working long hours and it could have been just fatigue.”

Mr Wilson said: “I’m going to record that this was a death due to a road traffic collision.”

He added: “He was a clearly impressive man, with supportive family and friends here in large numbers.”

Mr Wilson finished by offering the family his condolences.

His family previously paid tribute to the doctor, releasing a statement through the police in which they described him as ‘unusually kind’ and ‘exceptionally bright’.

The statement state: “Jyothis was a loving son to his mom and dad and an angel guardian to his younger brother.

“Jyo had a passion for mental health awareness in addition to improving equality and diversity in the NHS workplace. He was compassionate, dedicated and always strived for the best in his career as a trainee anaesthetist.

“He always went the extra mile for his patients whether it was organising their dental appointments or just making them a cup of tea and sharing his terrible jokes.”

It continued: “Jyo was ambitious about his career and continued to excel in his work. He was particularly passionate about teaching, including directing on advanced life support courses, delivering teaching on delirium and supporting medical students.

“He cared about his colleagues deeply and went out of his way to make you feel loved, valued and supported. He always had time to listen to his colleagues concerns and worries and was always ready to help those who were struggling.”