DETECTIVES are trying to piece together the circum-stances of an accident that claimed the life of a Lake District hotel worker.

Officers are mystified as to how Piotr Jacek Karpowicz, 30, met his death.

He was found lying seriously injured in the road next to the wreckage of a red Jaguar on the A591 near Troutbeck Bridge early on Friday morning.

Two officers who arrived at the scene following a tip from a member of the public tried to revive Mr Karpowicz using a defibrillator and resuscitation techniques. They were unsucc-essful and he died at the scene.

“We don’t know how he has left the vehicle,” said Detective Inspector David Banks, senior investigating officer.

“Whether he has left it himself, been thrown from it or was a pedestrian is something we are investigating.”

Six foreign nationals - four men and two women - were arrested shortly after the accident on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. They have now been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

“We are trying to establish the full circumstances leading up to and after the accident in relation to who was driving the vehicle,” said DI Banks.

“We also want to find out who else was in the vehicle, who else was aware of the movements of the vehicle before the accident and the movements of people afterwards.”

Mr Karpoowicz, a Polish national, had been living in Troutbeck Bridge and worked as a kitchen assistant every Sunday at the village’s Sun Hotel.

Owner Helen Henderson said he was a good worker and a happy, cheerful lad.

“Nothing was a bother to him,” she said. “It didn’t matter what needed doing, he would help with anything. He always got involved. We were all sad to hear the news.”

The hotel’s head chef, Ryan Stafford said: “We had a laugh. He was very easy to get on with. He will be missed.”

The accident happened around 12.20am and the road re-opened around 2pm on Friday following a thorough examination of the area by crime scene and collision investigation officers.

Motorists were caught up in long delays and diversions were put in place.

“I fully appreciate that closing a road for that length of time causes inconvenience to mem-bers of the public and local business people but I am sure that they will agree that it is important that we find out the circumstances behind an incident of this nature,” said DI Banks.

“It’s exacerbated in South Lakeland because the A591 is a main arterial route. It’s important that we get to the bottom of excatly what happened.”