A TEST Valley man who would 'help anyone at the drop of a hat' died after his car crashed into a tree, an inquest heard. 

George Dillon, of Romsey Road, Ower, died on May 20 last year at Southampton General Hospital.

Mr Dillon, 19, was driving on Lee Lane on May 18 after seeing friends at The Olive Tree in Romsey. After this, the group was heading to a friend's house in Southampton. 

When driving a Volkswagen Golf, which he had got just three weeks before, Mr Dillon came to an unusual crest in the road. The inquest heard the car bottomed out causing Mr Dillon to lose control and crash into a tree. He later died in hospital. 

Five of Mr Dillon's friends attended the inquest, at Winchester Coroners' Court on April 24, to support his family. 

Mr Dillon's father Darron Dillon said: “He was an impeccable boy. He worked and studied hard. He had just completed four years at Sparsholt College to be an agricultural engineer. 

“He was happy to go to the pub with his friends, drink Coke and drive them home. He was a very caring person and would help anyone at the drop of a hat.”

A toxicology report found no evidence of alcohol or drugs in Mr Dillon's body and his family told the inquest that he didn't drink alcohol. The cause of death was given as a traumatic brain injury due to a road traffic collision.

Assistant coroner Henry Charles issued a prevention of future death report over the condition of the road and the handling of the automatic call to emergency services from Mr Dillon's mobile phone. 

The technology detects when a crash has happened and automatically alerts emergency services.

READ MORE: Romsey teenager George Dillon's family launch CIC in his honour

However, Mr Dillon's family raised concerns about how the call was handled. The police log showed a call had been received at 10.26pm, but Darron Dillon said: “The impact message was sent from his phone to 112 at 10.16pm.”

Daniel Whittington, Hampshire Police control room supervisor, told the inquest that the technology is new and that, in most cases, the alerts don't come from serious incidents. 

Angela Dillon, Mr Dillon's mother, said: “We're trying to figure out why nobody was dispatched immediately when someone could have been unconscious.”

Mr Whittington said: “The information given from the automatic alert is not accurate enough to send an officer straight away.” 

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Mr Charles said: “I'm concerned by the lack of evidence of previous incidents at the location.”

Darron Dillon said: “There has been a lot of accidents there over the years. For any driver unaware of the crest, they will become unstuck every time.”

The coroner added: “What concerns me is the acceptance by the police of the lack of knowledge about the crash detection technology and about the location data it provides. When it gives notification of a serious incident, it seems likely that the person involved would not be able to respond. The question of response to serious crash detections needs looking at.”

Darron Dillon said: “An immediate response to a serious incident is always a priority. The road has been a black spot for years, nothing has been done. There are no warning signs.”

Mr Charles gave the cause of death as a road traffic collision and he offered his condolences to Mr Dillon's family and friends. 

Mr Dillon's family told the Advertiser they are now in a position to start offering services through the George Dillon Only a Dream Away CIC. The non-profit community interest company was started last year by Mr Dillon's family to help people between the ages of five and 40 living in the Hampshire area who have sustained a traumatic or acquired brain injury. 

For more information, email george.onlyadreamaway@gmail.com or search George Dillon Only a Dream Away CIC on Facebook.