THE family of a man killed by a lorry as he strode through the dark looking for fuel say they do not blame the driver, an inquest heard.

Peter McGuire was the victim of a ‘tragic accident’ on July 27, triggered when the car he was travelling in broke down on the M40.

The 27-year-old was among three passengers who set out from the hard shoulder in search of a petrol station, walking on the southbound slip road towards the Wendlebury Interchange.

Oxford Coroner’s Court heard yesterday how he was killed in the dark at 4.20am after being hit by a passing lorry.

Its driver Jose Fernandez sobbed with emotion yesterday as he appeared via video link alongside a translator.

He said: “I’m very sorry. I have two sons myself - I understand how you feel. I did not see anything.”

Mr McGuire, from Solihull near Birmingham, was travelling to work a security job in London although he was not in full-time employment.

He and his colleagues - some of whom he had only met that day - were wearing dark security uniforms.

The Spanish lorry driver broke down in tears as Mr McGuire’s dad urged him not to feel guilty.

John McGuire, who was present in court alongside his son’s stepmum and brother, said: “We do not hold you responsible in any way. It was a tragic accident and we do not blame you.”

Mr Fernandez said he was in shock after the crash and unable to call for help as he did not know the emergency service number.

He desperately waved down passing lorries until two stopped; one driver calling an ambulance and another administering CPR.

Attempts to revive Mr McGuire did not work and he was pronounced dead at the scene, suffering multiple injuries including a head wound.

Of the two men he was walking with, one had a head injury that required surgery while the other was found wandering around in a state of confusion.

Collisions investigator Stephen Moffat said Mr McGuire had been ‘completely unaware’ of the lorry.

He said: “It’s such a dangerous place to walk, you have to have your wits about you. The driver has no way of knowing you are there until it’s too late.”

Mr McGuire had been walking on the white line next to a narrow grass verge.

John McGuire raised concern that the verge should be widened and tarmacked to allow safer passage, adding: “My son’s actions were foolish, I understand that.

“But I don’t accept the verge can’t be made wider to allow foolhardy people a chance.”

A report stated there had been no other known pedestrian deaths in the same spot, while a response from Highways England added: “It’s not our policy to encourage people to walk [there].”

Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter offered to write to Highways England about the concerns but added: “You don’t usually see pathways, for the obvious reason that people don’t normally walk there.” He concluded death by road traffic collision.