The death of Zhudi Chen, 51, in a tragic car crash in Cornwall last year will never be fully explained, an inquest has revealed. The incident occurred on the A38 between Bodmin Parkway train station and the Halfway House in the Glynn Valley on Sunday, April 28, around 12.30pm. At the time, police confirmed that a man in his 50s had died, and four others were injured in the crash.

During the inquest at Cornwall's Coroners Court in Truro on March 25, witnesses described the collision. One witness, traveling home from Cornwall, reported that Mr. Chen's silver Honda Jazz hatchback seemed to 'speed up' at the last moment before colliding head-on with a red Nissan Navara truck, which had 'nowhere to go'. The driver of the Nissan described a 'loud bang' and said it was almost immediately a head-on collision. The impact happened just two seconds after the witness saw Mr. Chen’s car veer into the wrong lane.

All occupants of the Nissan were taken to the hospital with injuries but survived. A police investigation revealed that Mr. Chen's car had crossed a single white line, leading to the collision. The crash resulted in fatal injuries for Mr. Chen and serious injuries to the other vehicle's occupants, including a punctured lung, broken bones, and a perforated bowel.

Investigations showed no faults with Mr. Chen’s vehicle, and while the Nissan Navara had a serious mechanical issue, it was not a contributing factor to the crash. No road defects were found. Senior coroner Andrew Cox concluded that while Mr. Chen was driving at a reasonable speed, he inexplicably veered into the wrong lane. Although there was a significant fault with the second vehicle, Cox accepted that it didn’t influence the crash’s outcome. He recorded the death as a road traffic collision but could not determine the precise reasons for Mr. Chen’s car veering off course. There was no evidence suggesting that Mr. Chen intentionally caused the crash or that he was using his mobile phone at the time.