A MOTORIST died when his van overturned on ice, throwing him on to the road into the path of a transporter, an inquest heard.

Luke Becker, 24, had been returning home after a freezing night resurfacing a stretch of the A164 between Beverley and Driffield.

The accident happened at about 4.15am on December 11 last year, between the East Riding villages of Fridaythorpe and Shiptonthorpe.

As temperatures slumped to -4C, the emergency services dealt with a catalogue of accidents caused by the wintry conditions.

Mr Becker, who worked for Scunthorpe-based Specialist Surfacing, had been driving a silver Ford Transit works van.

The accident happened as he attempted to overtake a Renault Magnum animal transporter.

The 14.5-ton transporter was being driven by Jonathan Botterill, an experienced HGV driver.

Mr Botterill, who gave evidence at yesterday's inquest into Mr Becker's death, which was held in Hull, had been driving to Tamworth, Staffordshire to collect pigs.

The 31-year-old, of Driffield, said: "I could see the van's headlights in my mirror. It started to overtake me.

"The van pulled level. As it overtook me it tried to pull back in. He then lost the back end.

"It went crossways straight in front of me.

"The vehicle started to roll at that point."

Mr Botterill, whose tachograph showed his speed to peak at 57mph, managed to avoid a collision with the van and steered his vehicle on to the other side of the road.

But the transporter struck Mr Becker who had been thrown 38 metres (124ft) clear of the van through the driver's window.

"I saw something slide across the road," said Mr Botterill, who is employed by Driffield-based Chris Weight Transport.

Geoffrey Saul, coroner for Hull and the East Riding, said: "Sadly, we now know it was a person."

Shortly before finishing work, Mr Becker had skidded on ice and "overshot" a roundabout in his van.

Stuart Baker, who worked with Mr Becker, told the inquest: "Luke turned to me and said, 'Did you see that? I couldn't stop'.

"He said he had better take it steady driving home."

Experts agreed Mr Becker, who suffered extensive head injuries, would have died instantly.

PC Ian Clark said: "Mr Botterill would have had no time to react to this further development."

He added that Mr Botterill had failed to take into full account the dangerous road conditions, despite his earlier near-miss.

Mr Becker was not wearing a seat-belt and two air bags fitted in the van had not inflated.

Lester Burton, East Riding Council's principal engineer, said gritters had twice been deployed to the scene of the accident.

Following reports of ice, Mr Burton confirmed the accident spot had been treated with rock salt by 8.20pm the previous night and then again by 12.50am.

Since 2006, there have been 10, mostly low-speed, accidents on that stretch of the A164.

Delivering a verdict of accidental death, Mr Saul said: "On the evidence I have heard, and based on the balance of probability, Luke Becker died as a result of an accident."