A CYCLIST died after riding on to a dual carriageway through a red traffic light and colliding with a car.

Robert Lee was fatally injured when he shot across the junction of the A335 Thomas Lewis Way and Mayfield Road in Southampton on the afternoon of July 10 last year, an inquest heard.

Hampshire assistant coroner Sarah Whitby said the 23-year-old was flung off his bike and would have died immediately.

A post-mortem examination concluded that Mr Lee, of Lord Mountbatten Close, Mansbridge, died of severe head injuries and was just over the drink-drive limit at the time of the accident.

He also had a history of depression.

The owner of the black Audi A3 involved in the collision, Lewis Gordon, of Chessel Crescent, Bitterne, said he had been driving with his girlfriend towards Eastleigh within the 40mph speed limit.

“It just happened really quickly,” he said. “A cyclist came down and hit the front of my car. I saw him at the same time as I hit him.

“I hit my brakes and swerved to the right.”

Police found that the Audi hatchback’s windscreen had shattered in the collision and a wing mirror broke off.

Colin Hodges, who was also driving along Thomas Lewis Way, said: “I saw the cyclist shoot out into the main road.

“He seemed to be looking over his shoulder behind him.

“The accident happened in the middle of the junction. Things were flying everywhere.”

A statement by driver Wendy McGaw, which was read to the court, said she had spotted the Audi driving at “excessive speed” shortly before the accident.

“I thought ‘Why boy? You are a complete idiot’,” she added.

Yesterday’s Winchester inquest heard how a police inquiry into Mr Lee’s death decided not to bring any criminal charges against Mr Gordon.

Investigators concluded it was impossible to say how fast the car and bike were travelling when they collided.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, the coroner said Mr Gordon’s view of the cyclist may have been blocked by foliage and the car in the next lane.

Ms Whitby said the reason why Mr Lee cycled through a red light would remain a mystery.

“This was just a sequence of events I’m afraid,” she said.