A SOLIDER died when he was run over by a driver who failed to spot his unconscious body in the road at night, an inquest heard.

Gunner Jonathan Plummer – described as a “rising star” in the army – had been drinking heavily at a regimental sports dinner at the Stones Hotel on July 29 last year.

He was “very drunk” when his friend Christopher Kempson picked him up and took him back to the 32 Regiment gate in Larkhill. Mystery still surrounds how Gnr Plummer managed to walk 60m down The Packway before collapsing in the road.

He was hit by a Jaguar X-Type estate driven by John Wilson, an army driver on his way to work at 12.30am on July 30. He died almost instantly.

Mr Wilson described seeing something a split second before impact but said he had no time to take evasive action. Knowing he had hit “something quite big” he stopped the car and found the body in the middle of the road. Panicking, he could not phone for help but drove to a nearby guard station to raise the alarm. A second driver spotted the body and called 999.

The only witness, Christopher McLoughlin, said he heard the roar of the engine and a loud thud. He saw Mr Wilson exit the car to see what he had hit – repeatedly swearing after seeing the body, before he sped off.

Mr McLoughlin reached the body moments after the second driver arrived.

Despite being given first aid, Gnr Plummer was declared dead at the scene. Doctors said there was no way he could have survived the impact.

Mr Wilson insisted he had stuck to the 30mph speed limit.

A pathologist's report found Gnr Plummer was three times the drink-drive limit and had traces of cocaine in his system. Swelling to his brain suggested he had fallen on the road.

Crash investigator Andrew Hill said Gnr Plummer had been wearing a dark suit in an area of shadow and was facing away from Mr Wilson when he was hit, making him hard to see. During a nighttime reconstruction of the incident, a member of the public driving a car also failed to see a dummy in the road.

Mr Hill said marks on the road suggested Mr Wilson had not been speeding.

Recording a conclusion of road traffic collision, assistant coroner Peter Hatvany said the events after Gnr Plummer had been dropped off were “very sketchy”.

He accepted that Mr Wilson had not seen him in the road.