A coroner’s court has officially ruled that the death of a British man, who fell from Spain’s highest bridge last year, was accidental as new details emerge.
On October 13, 2024, 26-year-old Lewis Stevenson and his friend climbed the Castilla La Mancha Bridge, a cable-stayed overpass that stands 192m high.
A Derbyshire-based inquest heard that Stevenson - described as a ‘thrill-seeker’ by his family - scaled the central mast of the ‘totally prohibited bridge’ without wearing any safety equipment.
When they got to a certain height, the daredevil asked his pal, aged 24, to ‘take over the lead as he felt ill’, the inquest heard.
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Stevenson is said to have ‘vomited’ before falling from the bridge, which opened in 2011.
He died from the injuries he sustained, Derby Coroner’s Court was told.
After reviewing all evidence, Derby coroner Susan Evans ruled the man’s death as accidental after reviewing all the evidence, as per The Sun.
Stevenson had shared various adrenaline-filled snaps on social media before his death and was often heading off on ‘adventures around the world’, his mother explained.
Destinations on his travel itinerary included Easter Island and Machu Picchu.
“Unfortunately those adventures also included climbing great heights which we didn’t particularly agree with but understood this was what he loved to do,” the family stated.
“He knew his limits and never did anything beyond them. He was a keen photographer and he did this all for passion, not as an influencer.
“There will forever be a hole in our hearts and life will not be the same again.”
The grieving woman also said that Stevenson was her ‘world’ and her ‘biggest achievement’.
“He continually made me so proud, he was happy and ambitious in life,” she added.
Prior to the recent Coroner’s Court, Macarena Muñoz, a local councillor, clarified that accessing the Castilla La Mancha Bridge was ‘totally prohibited’.
She explained that the council had ‘reiterated on many occasions’ that the feat was not to be attempted by anyone, including social media daredevils.
In the wake of Stevenson’s death, his girlfriend, Savannah Parker, told MailOnline that it was a living ‘nightmare’.
“I feel violently sick at the fact you’re not coming back. Please come back. Answer the phone,” she lamented.
Meanwhile the deceased’s grandfather, Clifford Stevenson, told the publication that the family had ‘tried to talk him out’ of scaling the Spanish structure.
“We were always trying to talk him out of doing things but that was the way he was. He loved doing it, always went out there believing he'd be alright. He did what he did for his own pleasure. He did not get any money for it, he was an adventurer.”
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Topics: UK News, Social Media, Instagram
Ella Scott