A HOTEL worker was twice the drink drive limit when he crashed a car at high speed on a Lake District road, an inquest heard.

Piotr Jacek Karpowicz died after losing control of a Jaguar between Troutbeck Bridge and Ambleside last October while travelling at up to 100mph on the A591.

He was thrown from his vehicle as he was not wearing a seatbelt.

Recording a verdict of misadventure, coroner for south and east Cumbria Ian Smith said that Mr Karpowicz’s death was down to inexperience, drink and not using a seatbelt.

He added that Mr Karpowicz, who worked as a kitchen assistant at the Briarwood Hotel in Windermere, was doing everything wrong and paid the price as a consequence.

“Drink driving, speeding and not wearing a seatbelt is very dangerous and sadly Mr Karpowicz got it horribly and completely wrong and paid a very serious price indeed,” said Mr Smith.

PC Philip Murray told the inquest that Mr Karpowicz was thrown from the Jaguar after he lost control and over-steered to try to correct the problem.

After the car twice hit a wall, the inquest was told that at least one of the car’s doors was forced open and, because he was not wearing a seatbelt, Mr Karpowicz was forcibly ejected.

The hearing was told Mr Karpowicz did not possess a British driving licence and did not own the maroon Jaguar 3.2 Sport, which belonged to a friend.

Jonathan Downey was a passenger in the car and escaped uninjured as he was wearing a seatbelt. He left the crash scene but returned later.

Mr Smith believed that Mr Downey left out of either shock, or to try to phone the police, and he attached no blame to him for Mr Karpowicz’s death.

Mr Karpowicz’s girlfriend Izabela Hajman said: “He (Mr Karpowicz) was a nice guy but he was very crazy and he liked cars and speed as well.

“What can I say? He was going too fast at the corner.

“I have nice memories of him and I’d like to thank him for that.”

The hearing was told Mr Karpowicz, a Polish foreign-national who would have been 31 last month, died from the injuries sustained in the accident which happened at 12.20am on Friday, October 16.