Woman who died in crash at Winkhill was not wearing seatbelt, inquest hears
CRASH victim Liberty Turner was not wearing a seatbelt while travelling in the back seat of a car being driven by her teenage sister, an inquest heard.
Liberty, who worked as a waitress at Alton Towers, died in a head-on collision at Winkhill, near Leek, last July.
Her 17-year-old sister Imogen Turner suffered serious injuries after her Renault Megane lost control and veered into the path of a Ford Transit van in Ellastone Road.
The hours leading up to the crash were recounted at an inquest into the 20-year-old's death yesterday, where North Staffordshire deputy coroner Anthony Curzon recorded a verdict of accidental death.
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Mr Curzon said Liberty suffered fatal injuries as a result of not wearing a seatbelt, and offered his condolences to the family.
He said: "This is a very tragic matter.
"The deceased was not wearing a seatbelt, which caused her to be thrown from her seat. She suffered serious injuries as a result and was pronounced dead at the scene."
Liberty's mother, Fiona Knox, said her daughter had been at her grandparents' house in Rosebank Street, Leek, before the accident, where she was drinking rose wine.
Imogen, who also worked at Alton Towers, had finished her shift shortly after midnight on July 27, and came to collect Imogen along with their friend Joshua Fenton. The sisters were intending to travel from Leek to Uttoxeter, where their mother lived.
Stephen Deall, a collision investigations officer from Staffordshire Police, said it was not possible to say why the car lost control, but confirmed seatbelts in the rear of the car, where Liberty was seated, had not been used.
He said the crash could have been due to excessive speed, poor judgment, or a combination of the two.
Imogen's friend Joshua Fenton, who escaped the crash with only minor injuries, said Imogen had a row with Liberty because she did not want to pick her up so late.
He said: "I thought she was driving more erratically then usual."
Both Mr Fenton and the driver of the Ford Transit, Stewart Cunningham, gave vivid accounts of the aftermath of the crash, which happened at around 1.20am.
The emergency services soon arrived and Mr Cunningham, who was absolved of any blame, received hospital treatment.
Tests revealed Imogen had not been drinking and, although a file was prepared by the Crown Prosecution Service, no further criminal proceedings were taken.
Mr Curzon said: "I hope Imogen goes on to make a recovery.
"She has clearly gone through a substantial loss and is going to have to live with it for the rest of her life."
Comments
by KingTut
Saturday, September 01 2012, 2:22PM
“An absolutely tragic loss of such a young and promising life. King Tut sends his heartfelt condolences to all the bereaved family and friends.”
by nelsonl
Friday, August 31 2012, 8:04PM
“@proud potter.
i wasnt having a go mate, all i was saying was i think if her family or friends read the post they would proberbly of felt that the loss of their loved one took 2nd place to the queens english.
sorry if it come across as though i was critising, i wasnt, and apologise immensely if it caused you any upset.
no hard feelings proud potter :-)”
by Kenny95
Friday, August 31 2012, 7:24PM
“I've got to admit that when travelling in the backseat its rare that I wear a seatbelt. I always feel like i'm being over cautious. Lets hope that people like me will learn from this tragedy.
RIP Liberty xxx
I WILL ALWAYS wear a seatbelt in future when in the back.”
by johnboy2011
Friday, August 31 2012, 5:56PM
“Such a pretty girl to loose her life at such a tender age, so sad, deapest sympathy to family and friends.”
by Proud_Potter
Friday, August 31 2012, 3:27PM
“nelsonl - Sorry if my comments appeared to concern anything other than the utter sadness and tragedy of this story - that truly was not the intention.”
by nelsonl
Friday, August 31 2012, 2:46PM
“*with her death
Apologies”
by nelsonl
Friday, August 31 2012, 2:45PM
“proud potter i understand why you had a dig at daley, but then you go on and recite the rights and wrong of grammar.
a young girl tragically lost her life, does it matter in putting people right.
her family and friends would find it hard enough coming to terms of her death, im sure they dont want see squabbling in a comments forum.
RIP Liberty”
by Proud_Potter
Friday, August 31 2012, 2:06PM
“daley74 - Do you really think the tragic death of a 20 year old girl with her whole life ahead of her is an appropriate vehicle for making a cheap grammatical point? Do you have a scintilla of understanding of what it will feel like for her friends and family when they come across your comment at the base of an article about how their world has just been torn apart? For the record, you are also wrong: the agency of the driver is generally understood as implied in the phrase to which you object.”
by daley74
Friday, August 31 2012, 10:16AM
“Whilst I have every sympathy for both the driver and the victim, can we please change the wording from "the car lost control"? Car's are not driven by themselves, it is drivers who lose control at then end of the day.”