By Ted JeoryA FAMILY whose son was killed in a car crash after driving too fast and not wearing a seatbelt have urged young motorists to learn from his death.

By Ted Jeory

A FAMILY whose son was killed in a car crash after driving too fast and not wearing a seatbelt have urged young motorists to learn from his death.

Robert Warner died instantly when his Volkswagen Golf car left a country road, overturned and smashed into trees in Great Totham during the early hours of Saturday.

The fatal crash happened shortly after a police car travelling in the opposite direction had spotted his vehicle in Maldon and turned round to follow it to carry out a routine check.

An Essex Police investigation was launched into his death, but a spokeswoman revealed yesterday the two officers had wanted to stop Mr Warner because they noticed he had not been wearing a seatbelt.

However, instead of stopping, the 20-year-old former cadet had accelerated along the A414 and out of Maldon.

A short while later at about 1am officers discovered his Volkswagen Golf overturned at a bend in Captain's Wood Road, Great Totham.

Firefighters and ambulance crews were called to the scene, but Mr Warner, of Butt's Green Road, Sandon, near Chelmsford, was already dead.

In a statement issued yesterday, his family said: “We want to take this opportunity to use Rob's fatal accident as an example to prevent the terrible pain and unnecessary loss of life caused by driving too fast, not wearing a seatbelt and considering himself, as so many youngsters do, to be immortal, often at the expense of other innocent people.

“Thankfully, no-one else was hurt in our Rob's crash. We loved our son and were so very proud of him.”

They added: “We have been overwhelmed by the number of people, many of whom we didn't know, who loved our boy.

“Rob was a natural leader, which became apparent when he joined the Combined Cadet Force at 16, he made sergeant in only two terms.

“He progressed after school to organising his many friends' social lives. After working on his family's farm, he progressed to become a qualified tree surgeon, a job he loved.”

Anyone with information about the crash should contact Chelmsford traffic police on 01245 452918.

ted.jeory@eadt.co.uk