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A “loving and caring” dad may have been "distracted" by his mobile phone when he walked in front of a bus, an inquest heard.

Paul Stanley Lenihan , 46, from Morriston, died following the crash in Swansea on Friday, January 27.

He went to cross the road and was hit by a First Cymru bus heading into Woodfield Street.

The inquest at Swansea Coroner’s Court on Tuesday heard there was around one second between the moment Mr Lenihan stepped into the road and him being hit by the single-decker bus.

South Wales Police PC Paul Jones gave evidence at the hearing and read witness statements of passengers on the bus when it hit Mr Lenihan.

PC Jones read a witness statement by passenger David Mitchell, who said: “I saw something hit the windscreen causing it to crack.

“It was as if it had come from nowhere. At this point I didn’t even know if it was a person.

“The driver said ‘I have hit someone’. He sounded hysterical.

“Other passengers started to get off the bus.”

He added: “I don’t believe the driver had a chance to stop even if he had seen him.”

Other passengers gave evidence to police that up until the crash the journey was “unremarkable” and the bus was driven smoothly.

PC Jones also read a statement given by the bus driver, Andrew Powe who described hearing passengers “screaming” after the crash.

Mr Powe said: “I remember he [Mr Lenihan] was holding something in his hand and was looking down.

“The lights were still on green when he walked out into the road.

“I heard a thud and someone screaming out in the bus.”

South Wales Police PC Kyle Smith, a forensic collision investigator, who gave evidence at the inquest said the bus was travelling at around 11mph and was around five metres away from Mr Lenihan as he stepped into the road.

He added there was around a second between the crash and Mr Lenihan stepping into the road from the crossing.

PC Smith, who attended the scene, said: “At the moment he walked out, in my opinion the collision was unavoidable.”

He added that Mr Lenihan had what appeared to have an illuminated mobile in his hand and that it was “entirely plausible” it “diverted his attention from his surroundings”.

Coroner Colin Phillips recorded an accidental conclusion and that the cause of death was from crush injuries to the chest and pelvis.

A doctor at the scene pronounced Mr Lenihan dead at 5.49pm.

Mr Phillips said a bobble hat Mr Lenihan was wearing might also have restricted him hearing the oncoming bus and that he was “distracted perhaps” by his mobile phone.

In his conclusion Mr Phillips said: “It all happened in such a short amount of time. This was unavoidable.”

The inquest heard that Mr Lenihan had left a nearby pharmacy to collect a prescription before the crash.

Speaking days after his death, Mr Lenihan’s family said: “He was a kind loving partner to Natasha Devey and was her ‘rock through thick and thin’.

“A loving and caring father to Mark, Charlotte, Matthew and Leah, and a younger brother to Mark and Debbie.

“He will be extremely missed by all his family and friends.”

The crash in January led to the closure of the A48 in Morriston and delays in the area.