Hit-run victim cut down in prime of life
‘HAPPY, HEALTHY’ LANGUAGES EXPERT DIED OF CATASTROPHIC HEAD INJURIES, INQUEST TOLD
A TALENTED young graduate with ‘her whole life to look forward to’ died from catastrophic head injuries after being mowed down by a hit-and run-driver, an inquest was told.
Emma Galton, 24, was walking across the road at a pedestrian crossing Chester Road in Hulme when Laurence Crossan, 28, ploughed into her in his Ford Mondeo.
Two off-duty doctors who were passing the scene battled to save Emma, alongside the emergency services, but she tragically died.
Crossan was jailed for seven years and four months last autumn, after speeding off from the scene and eventually handing himself into the police three days later.
Now an inquest into Emma’s death, held at Manchester Coroner’s Court, heard that Emma died from serious head injuries.
The hearing heard that Emma, who was originally from Bristol but had been living in Manchester after graduating from university, was attempting to cross the road using a pedestrian crossing, at around 9.30pm on June 28 last year.
CCTV footage showed Emma waiting until the pedestrian light turned green, to indicate it was safe for her to cross.
But just three seconds after she stepped into the road, Crossan, who had been weaving in and out of traffic ‘with seemingly no regard for any pedestrians,’ drove straight into Emma and failed to stop.
Tests showed he would have been driving at between 34 and 42 miles per hour on the 30mph limit road.
Emma was thrown into the air and came to rest more than 26 metres away.
The passing off-duty doctors stopped to help Emma, who also suffered injuries to her legs, and were soon joined by the emergency services. But despite their best efforts to save her, Emma died at the scene. Recording a conclusion that Emma died as a result of a road traffic collision, coroner Angharad Davis said: “It’s quite clear that Ms Galton was attempting quite properly to cross Chester Road using the pedestrian crossing. “It was one that had traffic lights to assist pedestrians. She waited for there to be a green signal. She crossed entirely appropriately on that road.”
Ms Davis also echoed comments made by crown court judge David Stockdale QC during Crossan’s sentencing, describing Emma as a ‘happy, healthy young woman who had her whole life to look forward to.’
Talented linguist Emma had secured a job with a translation agency in Sale and dreamt of moving to Spain to teach English.
A harrowing episode of BBC1’s Ambulance, documented the moment a 999 call came in about the incident, and later showed medics battling for more than 40 minutes to try to save Emma.
Shortly after she died, Emma’s family paid a moving tribute to the 24-yearold. They said: “We are completely devastated to hear of our eldest daughter Emma’s untimely death. We know she is at peace now in heaven with the Lord Jesus.”
She waited for there to be a green signal. She crossed entirely appropriately on that road Coroner