Autistic boy, seven, was killed when hit by car on dual carriageway after unlocking house door and escaping through open gate, inquest hears

A seven-year-old autistic boy was killed when he was hit by a car on a dual carriageway after unlocking his house door and escaping through an open gate.Logan Denniss escaped from the property in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, despite his mother Joanne Parker's desperate pleas for him to stop.Instead he left through a gate which was unsecured after a takeaway was delivered to the home, an inquest held at Nottingham's Council House heard on Friday.Moments later, Logan 'abruptly' stepped out in front of a Honda Civic on the A38 dual carriageway near his house and was hit by the driver who failed to see Logan.Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, the youngster was pronounced dead at the roadside at 8.26pm on March 10 earlier this year.Coroner Neena Sharma concluded that the boy, who lived with his mother and 13-year-old sister, died by misadventure.Ms Sharma said the incident was a 'tragic road traffic collision resulting from Logan unexpectedly entering the carriageway where he lacked capacity to appreciate the danger of oncoming traffic.'Logan had previously fled the house and attempts had been made to secure the property to ensure it wouldn't happen again, the inquest heard. Login Denniss was killed after he escaped his home and was struck by a Honda Civic on a nearby dual carriagewayMs Sharma added that on the night of the collision, 'things didn't go to plan' and Logan, who had been diagnosed with autism and ADHD, succeeded in getting out.Nottinghamshire Police Collision Investigator, Sarah Butler, said the family had ordered a takeaway and after his mother went to collect it, the gate 'did not click secure when it was shut and bounced open again'.She told the hearing: 'Joanne ran after him. She was struggling to keep up with him.'Eventually she stopped and called to Logan to ask if there was anything she could do to get him to come back.'At that point he steps out and her view is obscured by headlights, but she hears the impact.'Ms Butler added that due to Logan's autism, 'it is clear he was interpreting this as a game.'He liked to run and interpreted this as a game, and despite Joanne's efforts to get him back he continued along the road.'Joanne had tried her best to start instilling the basics and teaching him, however because of his difficulties road safety was not something he was completely aware of.' The seven-year-old boy was pronounced dead on the side of the A38 at 8.26pm on March 10The Honda Civic driver had left West Nottinghamshire College and was driving at around 40mph while on a hands-free call at the time of the collision.He initially believed he had hit a pothole but quickly realised he had hit someone and pulled over.After exiting the vehicle and checking it for damage, he heard Logan's mother screaming 'my baby'.The driver, who was a trained lifeguard, then rushed over and began administering first aid, before he was spoken to by police and tested for alcohol and drugs. The collision was not escalated to the Crown Prosecution Service as the hands-free call 'did not meet the threshold' and was not examined for driver culpability.She added that the hands-free kit was 'not what we would call a distraction'.Fellow Nottinghamshire Police Collision Investigator, Stephen Smith, told the hearing that the driver had very little time to react to Logan running out into the road.'The pavement is very close to the road at that time. At this point I don't think there was enough time for the driver to react,' he said.'The collision was caused by the actions of the pedestrian, Logan. I am sure his autism and ADHD may have affected his ability to assess the danger of oncoming vehicles.'Concluding the hearing, Ms Sharma said Logan’s diagnosed conditions 'affected his appreciation of risk and danger, and limited his awareness of hazards.'She added that Ms Parker 'did everything reasonably possible in extremely difficult circumstances' to save her son's life.Ms Sharma said there was ‘nothing to anticipate’ Logan would ‘suddenly and abruptly move from a safe position on the pavement into the carriageway.’She also thanked Ms Parker for 'painting a beautiful picture' of Logan when she paid an emotional tribute to her son who 'was just a really happy child.''He just wanted to play and do adventures. If he wanted to do something, he would find a way,' Ms Parker said.'He was a very active child and you would not catch him watching TV. He just liked to live life.'He didn’t understand the dangers. Before he stepped in the road he was smiling, he wasn’t scared. He just wanted to play with me.'Do YOU have a story? Email Joshua.Haining@dailymail.co.uk