Yesterday, coroner Gordon Ryall said "a moment of recklessness and madness" had led to the death of John Gordon, who was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

Miraculously, Mr Gordon's nine-year-old son, Reece, who sat in the front passenger's seat, survived after the car ploughed backwards through the wall of the maisonette in Danish Court, Werrington, Peterborough. But, the inquest heard he had been wearing his seatbelt.

The inquest at the town hall was told Mr Gordon's life could have been saved if he had buckled up before his journey along the A15 Werrington Parkway towards the city centre on December 1 last year.

Mr Gordon (31), of Long Pasture, Werrington, was travelling in excess of 100mph along the parkway and only hit the brake for a split second, reducing his speed to between 60 and 73mph, when he hit the roundabout at the junction of David's Lane and Papyrus Road.

The car flew over the roundabout, clipped a tree, bounced, and was then catapulted into the air and became embedded in the lounge of a flat backing onto the dual carriageway.

Firefighters worked inside the flat to cut Mr Gordon free and he was taken to a specialist unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge, but died later that day from multiple injuries.

Collision investigator, Pc David Paul said: "The Volvo was travelling at high speeds in excess of 100mph along the parkway, and although Mr Gordon attempted to stop, he was still travelling at between 60 and 73 mph when he approached the roundabout.

"Mr Gordon was not wearing a seatbelt. It is possible that the outcome may have been different if he had been, which is shown by the evidence of his son, who was wearing one and survived."

Daniel Jackson (21), a sales executive at the Sycamore BMW garage, in Papyrus Road, was crossing the roundabout when he spotted the car more than 20ft in the air. He said he had raced into the flat and saw Mr Gordon's son trying to clamber out of the passenger's seat.

He said: "I picked him up and took him down stairs. He was like jelly and was very dazed."

After recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Ryall said: "This was rather an extraordinary case. Mr Gordon was travelling at a very high speed and was then confronted by the roundabout. There are no other explanations to the cause of the accident other than speed.

"There were no defects in the road, or mechanical defects and Mr Gordon was in good health. It was a moment of madness and recklessness on his part."

Full story: Special Report: Werrington crash
A man and a child were rushed to hospital after a car left a busy dual carriageway and crashed into a row of flats in Werrington on December 1, 2007.