TV star Phil Spencer's dad's cause of death hours after crash that killed wife
An inquest has opened into death of TV presenter Phil Spencer' s beloved dad Richard David Edward Spencer, 89, who died on August 18 2023 at Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother hospital in Margate, Kent.
Richard died from a lung injury after his car overturned in a river, a coroner has said. The farmer was rushed to hospital after he nearly drowned, but he never regained consciousness, the inquest heard.
In August, Location Location Location star Phil's parents were killed in a car crash after a tragic accident on the family farm saw them career into a river. The TV presenter's dad Richard, 89, and mum Anne, 82, died when their car careered into a river. They were on their way to a pub for lunch when their car veered off the access road into a shallow tributary river running through their estate in Littlebourne, near Canterbury, Kent.
At the time, emergency services attended the scene, including an air ambulance. Richard and Anne were pulled from the car and taken to hospital. Sadly Richard was pronounced dead and Anne died later. A woman, in her 60s now revealed by Phil to be a carer for the couple, was also in the car and suffered minor injuries.
Phil's beloved parents were both killed in the accident (Instagram)At Maidstone County Hall on Monday, Sarah Clarke opened the inquest into the death of Richard David Edward Spencer and said he died of aspiration pneumonitis, which is a lung injury.
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Mr Spencer and his wife Anne Spencer both died after the crash as they were on their way to lunch on August 18, 2023, Phil Spencer previously said.
Ms Clarke said at around 12.20pm on August 18, Mrs Spencer was driving her Toyota car with Mr Spencer in the front passenger seat, and their full-time live-in carer sitting in the rear of the car.
They drove from their house towards a river and as their vehicle approached the bridge, it tipped over the edge and overturned, Ms Clarke said.
The trio were submerged in around three feet of water, she added. Paramedics arrived at around 12.57pm and took Mr Spencer and Mrs Spencer to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother hospital in Margate.
Phil remained silent online as the tragic news of his parents' passing broke. However, a week later, he took to his Instagram page to share a sweet photo of the pair as he paid a heartbreaking tribute to his beloved parents while candidly sharing further details of the tragic accident.
The emotive photo of Phil's late parents showed his beloved mother and father matching in blue striped tops as his mum Anne and dad Richard posed behind a half-opened stable door and smiled at the lens. The lengthy and heartfelt tribute in the caption began: "Very sadly both of my amazing parents died on Friday. As a family we are all trying to hold onto the fact Mum and Dad went together and that neither will ever have to mourn the loss of the other one. Which is a blessing in itself."
Phil explained his mum and dad had been on "extremely good form" before the tragic accident – despite his mum Parkinson's diagnosis while his dad had dementia. In a poignant and tear jerking comment, Phil said how his mother had commented the week before their death that they will "probably go together".
He wrote: "Although they were both on extremely good form in the days before (hence the sudden idea to go out to lunch), Mums Parkinson's and Dads Dementia had been worsening and the long term future was set to be a challenge. So much so that Mum said to me only a week ago that she had resigned to thinking "now it looks like we will probably go together". And so they did. That was what God had planned for them - and it was a good plan."
Phil and his family have been left devastated by the tragic loss of Richard and Anne (Sandra Rowse/REX/Shutterstock)
Phil lost both his mum and dad in the accident (@PhilSpencerTV/twitter)Phil then shared details of the tragic accident as he said the car had been travelling 'very slowly' but 'toppled over a bridge on the farm drive' and landed 'upside down into the water'. He added how his beloved parents had 'no physical injuries' and said he thinks the pair 'quietly slipped away'.
"The car, going very slowly, toppled over a bridge on the farm drive, upside down into the river. There were no physical injuries and I very much doubt they would have even fought it - they would have held hands under the water and quietly slipped away," he said. "Their carer was in the car and managed to climb out of a back window so the alarm was raised quite quickly."
TV star Phil Spencer’s parents killed in car crash on family farm
Phil added how, after the alarm was raised, his brother, Robert, 'pulled them out of the river' but they were unable to be saved. He said: "As many farmers do - my brother had a penknife and so was able to cut the seat belts - he pulled them out of the river but they never regained consciousness. Although desperately sad and shocked beyond all belief - all family are clear that if there can ever be such a thing as having a "good end" - this was it."
Speaking of his grief and shock over the heartbreaking incident, he added: "It feels horrendous right now, but after almost 60 years of marriage - to die together on the farm they so loved will, I know, be a comfort in the future. Mum Dad are together which is precisely where they would have wanted to be."
Richard and Anne first locked eyes at a New Year's Eve party in Canterbury in the early 1960s and tied the knot at Canterbury Cathedral on November 4, 1964. David studied engineering at Loughborough University, and after working in finance in London for a while, decided to opt for a different life altogether, buying Upper Garrington Farm.
In recent years, Richard was living with dementia, while Anne suffered from mild Parkinson’s disease. The couple continued to enjoy village life in their late years, however, and were both dedicated supporters of Littlebourne's St Vincent's Church. David had also been president of Littlebourne Scouts, while Anne had only recently given up her passion for riding horses following a fall.
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