FRIENDS and family of tragic teenager Joel Corner should have been celebrating one of the most important milestones of his young life today - but instead they were in mourning.

The teenager was one of three people killed on Thursday when the Audi A4 he was driving veered out of control and crashed into a Press van in Stockton Lane, York.

Today would have been his 16th birthday. Joel's dad, Lee, had to identify his son's body just five days before his birthday.

Instead of buying birthday cards and presents, his loved ones were leaving tributes at the roadside where he died.

Joel's school friend and passenger, Daniel Wright, also 15, of Kexby Avenue, in the Heslington Road area, and popular Peter Alexander, 57, of Dringhouses, a driver for The Press, were also killed in the horrific smash.

Inquests into the deaths of all three victims were opened and adjourned by assistant deputy coroner for York, William Tunnah, at Sentinel House yesterday.

He said: "All of these three died on April 20 of this year as a result of a motor accident in Stockton Lane, York, when two vehicles that were travelling in opposite directions collided.

"As a result, these people sustained fatal injuries."

Daniel Wright died of a head injury, and Joel Corner died of head and chest injuries.

Mr Tunnah added: "As you can imagine with an accident of this nature, there are a lot of police inquiries to be made and until those inquiries are made, the inquests have to be adjourned."

A start date for the inquests has not yet been decided, but he said he had signed the necessary documents for the bereaved families to be able to bury their loved ones.

He said Mr Alexander had died of chest and abdominal injuries.

His friend and former colleague, Liza Moore, said she had heard the tragic news about his death while she was on holiday in Spain.

She said: "My thoughts are with Peter's family, his wife, Ann, and their children.

"I worked alongside Peter in the Crescent Working Men's Club, where he will be greatly missed by committee and members alike.

"Peter was on the committee for decades, always honest and truthful, but most of all one of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet.

"I will miss his late-night humour greatly, as will all of us who were there to listen to Pete's jokes in the early hours of the morning.

"A great friend, and a great bloke."

Updated: 09:40 Tuesday, April 25, 2006