Bridge fall death: Woman may have been sleepwalking
CONDITION ‘MEANT SHE COULD PERFORM COMPLEX TASKS SUCH AS DRIVING WHILE ASLEEP’
A WOMAN who died after falling from a bridge suffered from a condition that caused her to sleepwalk, an inquest heard.
Laura Jane Hickey-Fareed, 34, was found by a passer-by at the base of the bridge over Queen’s Park Road in Heywood in the early morning of July 31, 2017, in the spot where a friend had committed suicide.
The man who found her immediately called for an ambulance and attempted CPR, but Ms HickeyFareed died at the scene. A police investigation found there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.
An inquest at Heywood Coroner’s Court heard that Laura, from Heywood, suffered from parasomnia – a disorder that caused her to walk and talk in her sleep.
And coroner Lisa Hashmi concluded there was an ‘outside possibility’ Laura had been sleepwalking when she died.
Laura’s mum, Maureen McIntyre, told the court she could perform relatively complex tasks, such as driving, while asleep and have no memory of them when she woke up.
She was offered medication for the parasomnia, but one of the possible side effects was schizophrenia so she turned it down, her wife Kelly Hickey-Fareed said.
Laura also had a history of anxiety and depression, and was found to have drugs in her system when she died.
She had been prescribed antidepressants which she took regularly, as well as having counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy.
In the months leading up to her death she had been under stress at work. In 2016 two of her aunts passed away, and some years previously her best friend had died after taking his own life at the same spot where Laura was found.
A toxicology report found that Laura had cocaine and Tramadol in her system. Her GP said that she had not been prescribed Tramadol, which is an opioid pain medication, and her family said they were not aware of her taking drugs.
Kelly said she was ‘a caring person who always looked after others.’
“She knew that if she hurt herself it would hurt others,” she said, adding that Laura’s death came as a ‘bolt from the blue.’
Laura’s mum said: “I just can’t believe that Laura intended to commit suicide. She was a strong soul and very compassionate and caring.”
The coroner said there was insufficient evidence that Laura had taken her own life as the drugs in her system may have had an impact, and there was an outside possibility that she was sleepwalking. She recorded a conclusion of misadventure.