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Tom Maynard death: timeline

A timeline of the events that led to Tom Maynard's death on a tube track in June 2012

George Dobell
George Dobell
26-Feb-2013
Following the loss of Surrey's T20 match against Kent at Beckenham on June 17, Tom Maynard, Rory Hamilton-Brown and Jade Dernbach returned to the home Hamilton-Brown and Maynard shared in Wandsworth. Maynard, described as "his normal, bubbly self" by Dernbach, was singing "ridiculous songs" in the words of Hamilton-Brown in an attempt to raise spirits following the defeat.
7.30pm Arrive home and begin drinking alcohol. Maynard was "not particularly depressed" about the loss, said Dernbach, but frustrated after an incident in Brighton around a week earlier where Maynard had been hit by a car having been out drinking. That incident had injured his shoulder and resulted in the club disciplining him. "He felt he was letting himself down a bit," Dernbach said.
8.30-9pm Maynard, Dernbach and Hamilton-Brown arrive at the Ship Inn in Wandsworth. Dernbach says they have "four pints of beer and a couple of shots".
11pm Return home and continue to drink, "Two or three vodka Red Bulls," according to Dernbach.
12.15am Go to Aura nightclub in Mayfair. Drink another "four or five vodka Red Bulls," according to Dernbach. Maynard tells girls they meet at nightclub that he is a shelf-stacker in Sainsbury's. "He seemed pretty happy," Hamilton-Brown told the inquest. "I was jealous of his ability to deal with the highs and lows."
2.15-2.30am Leave club by taxi, continue drinking vodka Red Bulls at home.
3.30am Maynard phones girlfriend Carly Baker, with whom he had spent the previous night. She described him as "sounding very down, very depressed". Maynard said "he'd 'had a shit day and felt crap,'" Baker said. "He said, 'you're the only thing that makes me happy'." Fearing he would drive, she attempts to dissuade him from coming to her house. The pair talk on speaker phone as he drives to her house. In the last call, Maynard tells her he is "just around the corner".
4.05am Plain clothes police officers in an unmarked car notice Maynard's Mercedes being driven erratically. They give pursuit, suspecting either "drink driving or theft" according to one of the officers.
4.10am Maynard's car turns into a no-through road. Police officers turn flashing blue lights on their car and make Maynard aware of their presence. He gets out of the car and, after a moment's pause, runs away. One officer remains with the cars - Maynard left keys in the ignition and the engine running - while the other pursues Maynard on foot. He quickly evades her.
4.13am Police report they are pursuing a man matching Maynard's description.
5.03am Train driver reports hitting body. Initially the driver, Martin Hopping, thought the objects on the track were bags of ballast. Only when he is within one carriage-length of the body, does he realise that it is a person. He applies the emergency brakes but, travelling at full speed of 35mph, is unable to stop. Hopping described Maynard as having "not fallen, but laid down" across all four rails.
5.41am Maynard is declared dead.

George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo