InstagramThe death of a “thrill seeker” who fell from a bridge in Spain while filming social media content has been ruled as accidental by a coroner.
Lewis Stevenson, from Derby, died after he fell from Castilla La Mancha bridge, outside the city of Talavera de la Reina, on 13 October 2024.
An inquest in writing, carried out by area coroner Susan Evans on Monday, said the experienced free climber felt ill and vomited before he fell from the structure.
Mr Stevenson’s mother Keilia, previously said: “There will forever be a hole in our hearts and life will not be the same again.”
The cable-stayed bridge, which opened in 2011, is 192m (630ft) tall, making it the tallest in Spain and one of the tallest in Europe.
Spanish authorities previously said Mr Stevenson was climbing the structure to “create content for social networks”.
The record of inquest stated Mr Stevenson and a friend climbed the central mast of the bridge in the early hours of the morning using the elevator rail, with Mr Stevenson climbing ahead of his friend.
The document confirmed the pair were not using any safety equipment to scale the structure.
It added: “As they got to the height of the first cables Lewis asked his friend to take over the lead as he felt ill. He vomited.
“A few moments later he fell from the bridge and died from the injuries he sustained.”
The coroner also expressed her condolences to the family of Mr Stevenson.
GoogleA statement from Macarena Muñoz, a councillor on Talavera council, previously said Mr Stevenson and a 24-year-old man, who was with him when he fell to his death, had “come to Talavera to climb the bridge and create content for social networks”.
She described it as an “unfortunate and sad outcome”.
She added it was “totally prohibited” to climb the bridge, describing it as something “which we have reiterated on many occasions cannot be done under any circumstances”.
Situated over the River Tagus, the bridge has long attracted climbers and social media creators who scale it despite the ban, according to local media reports.
‘Loved to travel’
Mr Stevenson’s mother previously said the family was “absolutely devastated” by the “tragic accident”.
His family said he was “not a social media influencer”, but a “thrill-seeker” who had a passion for photography and travel.
They added they supported his adventures, but “didn’t particularly agree” with his climbing.
“Lewis was my boy, my world and my biggest achievement. He continually made me so proud, he was happy and ambitious in life,” his mother Keilia previously said.
“He was a thrill-seeker who loved to travel and have new experiences.
“We as a whole family supported his adventures around the world, which included amazing places he got to visit like Easter Island and Machu Picchu, but unfortunately those adventures also included climbing great heights which we didn’t particularly agree with but understood this was what he loved to do.
“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.”