A 32-year-old Pembroke man met his death as a result of misadventure, a coroner ruled yesterday.

Coroner Will Francis said Anthony Douglas, of Glebe Road, died as a result of a severe head injury caused by a laceration and contusion to the brain.

According to consulting pathologist Dr. John Winwick, the wounds stemmed from a six-inch penetrating puncture to Mr. Douglas' right eye caused by a quarter inch wide pole from a harness.

Mr. Francis said the injuries were sustained during a road traffic accident which took place on September 19, last year.

The inquest heard that Mr. Doulas, a plumber, was riding north on Par-La-Ville Road and was overtaking two carriages at the time of the accident.

"The cycle was heading straight for my horse when the rider realised this and steered away,'' recalled carriage driver Iola Teixeira, who was driving one of the two north-bound horse and buggies. "The cycle started moving towards an oncoming carriage.'' Leroy Brangman, who was driving a southbound carriage, told Mr. Francis: "He tried to get back on his side of the road, but he couldn't. The cyclist struck the right shaft of the carriage and the horse. The collision broke the shaft.

"I thank the Lord that I was able to keep the carriage and horse under control because a lot of people could have got killed that night.'' Mr. Brangman added that there was nothing he could have done to avoid the accident.

Several witnesses told the inquest that Mr. Douglas was travelling at a high speed and that all three carriages were travelling with their lights on.

Dr. Constance Richard, who witness the accident, told Police that when she reached Mr. Douglas he was still breathing.

She said she told him to open his mouth so he could breath and he obeyed her.

While waiting for an ambulance, she said Mr. Douglas stopped breathing and she performed cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until they reached King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 8.49 p.m.

P.c. Antoine Fox told Mr. Francis that there was no road conditions that could have contributed to Mr. Douglas' accident.

And P.c. Fox said that there were no skid marks on the road to indicate that Mr. Douglas tried to brake.

Tests on Mr. Douglas revealed that alcohol, cocaine, morphine and codeine were in his system.

The analyst could not say the amount of drugs taken but said Mr. Douglas had a blood alcohol content was three time over the legal driving limit.

He had 242 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal driving limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

Co-worker Allan R. Smith, of Warwick, said he had a Canadian Club whiskey with Mr. Douglas after 7 p.m., after they finished work, on the day of the accident.

The accident took place at approximately 8.15 p.m.