Mum crushed to death by car after firework display at son’s private school
A MOTHER died almost instantly when she was crushed by a car at her son’s private school where she had been watching a firework display, an inquest heard yesterday.
Businesswoman Caixia Sun was crossing a car park when the people carrier reversed into her and she was trapped between it and a parked Ford Focus.
The people carrier, a Ford Galaxy, was being driven by a teenager who worked in the kitchens at £21,000 a year Sunningdale prep school and had no right to be at the wheel.
As the tragedy took place on private property, no criminal Road Traffic Act offence had been committed. However, Mrs Sun’s family are making a civil damages claim against the school in Ascot, Berkshire.
And yesterday her widower, Kexiang Zhou, said he has never received an apology from the school for the ‘incompetence’ that cost his wife’s life.
The jury at the inquest in Reading was told that Mrs Sun, 50, was hit by a people carrier driven by 19-year- old Melvin Owusu-Ansah who had mistakenly put it into reverse then accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.
He only held a provisional licence at the time and had no permission to drive the sevenseater automatic.
Mrs Sun, who lived with her family in a rented £4.5million house in Sunningdale, died after attending a bonfire party on November 5, 2015 at the school where her youngest son was a pupil. Tony Reading, a forensic collision investigator for Thames Valley Police, told the inquest: ‘It is clear that the driver found the accelerator instead of the brake. His reaction was then to push down harder. The vehicle can then travel very fast and significantly further than expected. The unintended acceleration occurred until the point of impact.
‘He hit the car behind and carried on for some time as he pushed the Ford Focus further into the hedgerow behind. He is a novice driver, he has not grasped what he needed to do.
‘I believe it to be unintended acceleration that is so common among elderly and inexperi- enced drivers.’ Dr Ashley Fegan-Earl, who carried out the post mortem examination said the cause of death was a head injury.
He added: ‘ The base of the skull was fully fractured. There was also a significant haemorrhage to the neck and to the front of the spine, with rib fractures on both sides.
‘There was a massive trauma to the head and it must have close to an instantaneous death.’ School kitchen worker Kevin Saul said that only head chef Darren Appleby had the authority to drive the people carrier which was used for ‘ heavy transportation’ when there were special events.
Mark Bowman, a specialist lawyer in personal injury claims for London law firm Fieldfisher, is acting for the family in the civil claim against the school.
He said after the hearing: ‘The Sun family has suffered the most terrible tragedy and two young boys have lost their mother. We are pursuing a civil claim against the insurers to ensure the children receive some financial support for their future.’ Mr Zhou said through the law firm: ‘I have lost my loving wife and our young boys have lost their devoted and wonderful mother.
‘As a family we were not only shocked by what happened, but also by the lack of support Sunningdale School provided us as a family following my wife’s death.
‘To this day, we have not even received an apology from the school for the incompetence that led to an unqualified driver using a school vehicle and crushing my wife to death.’
Mrs Sun was a successful businesswoman with interests in China. The family have moved back to live in China and did not attend yesterday’s inquest, which continues.
‘The most terrible tragedy’