African road accident led to death of Belper teacher.

A POPULAR teacher from Belper School was killed by a passing car while volunteering in Namibia an inquest heard this week.

Jim Reynolds, 59, was struck from behind by a car while out jogging near Nankudu where he was working as a teacher on July 10 2005.

The driver of the vehicle was one of Mr Reynolds' colleagues from the local school.

Jim's wife Janet Reynolds told the inquest at Derby Coroner's Court: "The driver had not seen him because it was very sandy and the sun was in the eyes of oncoming drivers.

"I was told he had mild concussion and broken ribs. When he was transferred to a regional hospital they put a drain in his chest. I had spoken to him on the phone but he seemed dazed."

Mr Reynolds, of Bridle Lane in Lower Hartshay, was transferred to Johannesburg where he had an operation to repair damage to his back and his wife travelled to the hospital to be with him.

During the operation surgeons discovered that his back was not as badly damaged as they thought and they carried out repairs to his face instead - action which surprised Mrs Reynolds as she wasn't aware of any facial injuries.

Mrs Reynolds said her husband was "very confused" when he came round so doctors sedated him again but sadly his organs began to fail and his life support machines were switched off on July 30 2005.

Derby and South Derbyshire Coroner Dr Robert Hunter recorded a verdict of accidental death caused by organ failure following injuries suffered in the accident.

He said there had been difficulty obtaining documents from Namibia and South Africa.

Dr Hunter said: "The driver was supposedly arrested on a reckless driving charge and was later charged with culpable homicide but the Namibian authorities cannot say if a court case followed. Therefore it is not possible to consider a verdict of unlawful killing."

Janet Reynolds said after the inquest: "I'm glad the verdict is accidental death. The last thing Jim would have wanted was his work colleague to be charged with culpable homicide. I'm sure he wouldn't have wanted that.

"The exam results of the children he was teaching were good, there have been big improvements in achievements. He made a difference and he would be delighted about that."

A fund set up in Mr Reynolds memory has raised money to help children at the Namibian School.

The school now has computers which will soon be connected to the internet and linked to Belper School where Mr Reynolds was a science teacher for 17 years.