Mark Philo
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Mark Philo (October 5, 1984 - January 14, 2006) was an English professional footballer. He was born in Bracknell, Berkshire and spent his whole professional career at Wycombe Wanderers F.C..
Philo joined Wycombe at the age of 15, having been on the books of both West Ham and Crystal Palace. He made his debut for the Wycombe first team in February 2004 under Tony Adams and signed a contract until the summer of 2005, which was extended to June 2007 by John Gorman. He played 17 matches for the club's first team.
Philo died at age 21, from head injuries sustained in a car accident on January 14, 2006. He was taken to hospital after his Vauxhall Astra car was involved in a head-on collision with a Renault Mégane at the junction of Sandhurst Road and Finchampstead Road in Wokingham, Berkshire at about 1:20 that morning. He was rushed to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading but he died at about 4:20 that afternoon.
His manager, John Gorman, paid tribute to him by saying, "He was a fantastic kid. He lived for football and always had a smile on his face."
The inquest into his death established that he had drunk five or six pints of lager and was one and a half times over the drink-drive limit. The crash also killed Patricia Gammon, a 47 year old grandmother. The coroner is quoted as saying "I have no doubt that had Mr Philo survived he would have been the subject of a criminal prosecution". A verdict of unlawful killing for Mrs Gammon and accidental death for Mr Philo was returned.[1]
