East London Coroner’s Court was told Steven and Emma Campbell were hit by a speeding Peugeot on a pedestrian crossing in Los Alcázares, Murcia.
Police found the couple with head wounds on the pavement, the court was told, and the driver was found to be more than three times the drink-drive limit.
Mrs Campbell survived, but her husband was killed.
The driver is yet to stand trial in Spain but an inquest into the death of Mr Campbell, 51, of Moreland Way, was held on Friday (February 21).
The court heard he had been looking to the future and planning an early retirement from Wells Fargo, where he worked as an investments specialist.
“He was working hard to be able to retire in three years and spend quality time with his wife and children,” said coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe.
Mrs Campbell described her husband in a statement as an “honest, caring and a funny family man”.
The couple, who married in 1997 and had two children, had flown to Murcia on July 6 and had “a really wonderful, relaxing few days together”.
On July 9, after a day in the sun, they visited a restaurant and watched Spain play France in the UEFA Euros semi-final.
The inquest heard that around 11pm they decided to take a stroll along the seafront.
But it was told they were run over on a pedestrian crossing outside the Costa Narejos Hotel.
While she was left with no memory of the accident, Mrs Campbell told the court she and her husband were “both naturally cautious, careful people” who never crossed the road without checking first that it was safe.
A Spanish police report said officers, called at 11.05pm, found a Peugeot 406 with the engine still running and Mr and Mrs Campbell “both on the pavement a few metres from the vehicle”.
Mr Campbell was unconscious, according to the report, and Mrs Campbell “also had a wound to the head but she was conscious and complaining of severe pain in her right shoulder and back”.
An inquest into the death of Chingford man Steven Campbell was held at East London Coroner’s Court, Walthamstow (Image: LDRS) The driver – named in court only as Mr Abdelali – claimed he had not seen them because a parked vehicle blocked his view.
However, the court was told officers “suspected he was inebriated” due to the strong smell of alcohol. He was breathalysed and found to be more than three times the limit.
Mr and Mrs Campbell were rushed to different hospitals.
Mr Campbell died the following day. Mrs Campbell remained in hospital in Spain for two weeks before being transferred to the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel.
The driver was charged with drink-driving and causing Mr Campbell’s death.
Spanish police wrote that he was “driving without due diligence and caution, did not take care to avoid endangering others and was believed to have driven in a negligent or reckless manner.
“It is believed that the car was also travelling too fast, in view of the damage to the vehicle, the distance the victims were thrown and their injuries.”
A report from the Murcia Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences said Mr Campbell suffered “brain death due to the destruction of vital nerve centres, due to polytrauma with severe head trauma”.
“This being a coroner’s court, I can’t deal with matters of civil liability,” Dr Radcliffe told the family.
“The correct conclusion in a case such as this, separating civil liabilities from it, would be his death was due to a road traffic collision.”
She gave her “deepest sympathies”, calling his death a tragedy.
In a statement after the hearing, the Campbell family said: “On July 9, 2024, our lives changed forever when Steve was killed in a collision in Spain.
“It is impossible to rewind time and change the actions of individuals that night, actions that had a massive effect on our family.
“Whilst there is nothing we can do to bring Steve back, we don’t want to continuously relive the worst night of our lives.
“We want to remember Steve as he was: a brilliant husband, supportive father and great friend, and we wish for our privacy to be respected at this difficult time.”
