Grandmother died impaled by branch
Grandmother, 55, was impaled in car
WAKEFIELD: A grandmother who was the “heart and soul” of her family died after being impaled by a tree branch in Wakefield, an inquest heard.
Elaine Davison, 55, of Pontefract, had been to visit her daughter in hospital with her husband Edward when the couple’s car was struck by a falling tree on Aberford Road.
A GRANDMOTHER who was the “heart and soul” of her family died after being impaled by a tree branch during high winds in Wakefield, an inquest heard.
Elaine Davison, of Pontefract, had been to visit her daughter in hospital with her husband Edward when the couple’s car was struck by a falling tree on Aberford Road.
Front-seat passenger Mrs Davison, 55, suffered fatal injuries when a large branch pierced her chest after striking the Vauxhall Zafira just before 8.30pm on November 11, 2010.
Giving evidence on the opening day of a jury inquest at Wakefield Coroner’s Court, Mr Davison’s statement was read out by senior coroner David Hinchliff.
Mr Davison, who was driving, told the jury the moment his wife told him that she was hurt.
He said: “The only other thing she said to me was ‘don’t let me die, will you?’ and I said ‘no, I won’t’.
“That’s one of the hardest things.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever had to lie to her and I can’t take it back.”
Mr Davison described a sudden “banging and crashing sound” as the tree branch fell into the road directly in front of the car, before hearing “silence” after the impact.
The inquest heard how the windscreen was pressed in over Mr Davison and his wife and he could see something “wood-like” pressing against Mrs Davison’s stomach through a hole in the glass.
Mr Hinchliff said to him: “You describe going into what you say was a blind panic.
“You asked Elaine if she was OK, but she said ‘no, I’m hurt’.”
He continued: “Elaine was saying she couldn’t breathe, she was holding the tree branch up against her stomach, she was saying ‘get it off ’.”
Mr Davison described “frantically” breaking small branches from the tree so he could get to his wife and flagging down a passing ambulance to help.
The inquest heard that Mrs Davison was taken to hospital, where resuscitation attempts failed and she was pronounced dead at 9.31pm.
Mrs Davison, who had four children and three grandchildren, was described as “the heart and soul of the family” by her husband.
The inquest was told that a post-mortem found that Mrs Davison had died from injuries consistent with the branch of a tree penetrating through her abdominal wall.
Michael Ferries, watch commander for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, told the inquest Mrs Davison had been “impaled” by a branch which he described as being 12 to 13ft long and seven inches in diameter at its widest point.
He said he became concerned about the condition of the remaining trees because of the “cracking” noise they were making.
He said: “There were large amounts of tree debris across the road.
“The winds never abated and they were the strongest that I have experienced as an adult.
“The conditions as a whole were dire.”
The jury inquest, which is expected to last around 10 days, continues.
They were the strongest I have experienced as an adult. Michael Ferries o f West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service describes the winds.