Inquest hears motorist in fatal collision was not wearing seatbelt
An inquest has heard how a woman who died after crashing her car on a Shropshire road may have survived if she had been wearing a seat belt.
Anne Ellen Reckless was driving home from the Sitwell Arms in Bucknell, in the south of the county, just after midnight on August 6 this year when the car struck the corner of a barn after failing to negotiate a right-hand bend.
Ms Reckless, a 59-year old bed and breakfast owner, lived less than a mile from the pub.
The inquest at Shirehall heard an accident investigation report stated there were no other vehicles involved, the road surface was dry and the car had no defects.
It further stated that it was a low-impact collision, but Ms Reckless had not been wearing a seat belt and had hit her head on the windscreen after the airbags deployed.
Factors
There were no witnesses to what happened, but evidence from the licensee of the Sitwell Arms said he had seen Ms Reckless drinking alcohol in the pub that evening.
She was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where she died eight days later, on August 14. A report from a doctor who treated her there said she was not tested for alcohol on arrival but "medical notes indicated the presence of alcohol", meaning the quantity she had drunk could not be estimated.
The medical cause of death was given as a traumatic brain injury, with contributing factors including fractured vertebrae and internal organ injuries.
John Ellery, senior coroner for Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, recorded that Ms Reckless, previously known as Anne Eluned Davies, died as a result of a road traffic collision.
Addressing Ms Reckless's sister, who attended the inquest, Mr Ellery said: "It does seem at least possible that alcohol has caused your sister to lose control.
"Failure to wear a seat belt has led to the injuries becoming fatal. Had she been wearing a seat belt it is quite likely that she would not have had the traumatic brain injury."
