Shropshire pensioner died in road crash after veering into path of oncoming car

Jean Partridge, 71, from Whitchurch, died in a head-on car crash in Cumbria on June 13.

An inquest into Mrs Partridge's death in Kendal was told that motorist David Law had "less than half a second to react" when her car veered into his lane from the opposite direction.

Mr Law, 41, from Tebay, was told there was "nothing he could have done" to avoid the head-on collision near Kirkby Stephen.

Mr Law, who was travelling home from work in Kirkby Stephen, described seeing a car "veering across the road into the front of my vehicle" while on a left-hand bend.

"I didn't really have a chance to brake because it all happened so quickly. I had to wait for quite a while to catch my breath before I managed to get out of the car," he said.

Constable Diane Beauman, collision investigator for Cumbria Police, said: "The driver behind Mrs Partridge said no brake lights illuminated as the car travelled across the carriageway, which suggests she was not aware of the positioning of her vehicle on the road."

She added: "We believe Mrs Partridge failed to negotiate the left hand bend due to either falling asleep, becoming distracted by a non-driving task in the vehicle or becoming inattentive to the road ahead, just for a few seconds."

Alan Sharp, the deputy coroner for south and east Cumbria, said: "There is not sufficient evidence to make a decision on whether she temporarily went into micro-sleep or was temporarily inattentive."

Mr Sharp concluded that Mrs Partridge died in a road traffic collision.

Mrs Partridge, a retired teaching assistant, died in the crash near the A683 Sedbergh Road junction after suffering multiple injuries.

Originally from Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire, she had lived in Beech Avenue in Whitchurch for many years.

A statement from Mrs Partridge's family following her death said she would be greatly missed by both family and friends.