MORE safety measures have been ruled out on a road where three Blackburn men lost their lives in an horrific crash.

A police investigation was launched into whether Preston New Road in Samlesbury could be made safer.

But it found that crash was down to the actions of the driver, who was high on heroin and driving at 100mph.

Sergeant David Tonge revealed the findings after an inquest was held into the deaths of Shakil Mohammed Ahmed, 27, of Tenby Close, and Makhdoom Ali, 21, and Shamsuddin Desai, 18, both of Whitwell Place.

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death in the case of Mr Ahmed, who was the driver, and death due to unlawful killing for passengers Mr Ali and Mr Desai.

Urphan Patel, 23, of Mandela Court, Blackburn, survived the crash but lost his left leg. All four were friends who lived close by in Whalley Range.

They were travelling home from a night out in Preston at 11.25pm on December 1 last year when their Honda Legend careered off the road at 100 mph, hit a tree and split in two.

It is not known exactly how the crash happened due to a lack of witnesses.

But the inquest this week was told that Mr Ahmed had taken heroin supplied by Mr Ali in return for driving him around. A post-mortem examination found that there was 620 miligrammes of morphine per litre of blood in his body.

This, coupled with the speed, wet weather and lack of fluid to operate the car's power steering, were found to be key factors in the crash.

But any notion that the road itself contributed was ruled out.

Sgt Tonge, speaking after the inquest, said: "There were no defects on the road, nothing was wrong with the lighting and surveys found that most people do drive along the road at the maximum speed limit of 70 mph.

"It was also highlighted that there had only been two accidents there in the past five years."

Sgt Tonge said the crash was the worst accident scene he had seen in 27 years of service. He added: "This was a tragic incident which was clearly caused by a collaboration of speed, a defect on the car and driver's actions.

"Had he survived he would have been facing serious charges."