Young mum died in crash as she ‘dashed to work at 6am’
‘EXCESSIVE SPEED’ CAUSED SMASH, INQUEST IS TOLD
A YOUNG mum newly promoted to manager at McDonald’s died in a road smash as she raced to her early morning shift, an inquest heard.
Holly Carter, 21, was thought to have been running late for her 6am start and drove at speeds of more than 60mph in a 50mph zone.
But as she took a corner, her Vauxhall Corsa veered across the carriageway out of control and hit a tree.
Miss Carter was severely injured in the collision outside Bentley Wood Farm pub in Hapton, near Accrington in Lancashire, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
‘Excessive speed’ caused the crash, a police officer told the coroner in Preston.
The mum, who had a three year old son, was working at a McDonald’s restaurant at the Blackburn with Darwen motorway services on the M65.
The accident occurred at 5.48am on October 26, last year, as she was travelling along the A679 from Accrington towards Burnley, which has a 50mph limit.
Two separate eyewitnesses told the inquest they saw the Corsa appear out of control in the moments before the crash after taking a left hand bend.
PC Rachel Carberry - a road traffic collision investigator for Lancashire Police, said CCTV footage confirmed Holly’s car had gone sideways along the pavement and she was able to establish the vehicle had been travelling between 61mph and 69mph. She said Holly had been wearing her seatbelt.
PC Carberry added: “I concluded that the driver has lost control due to excessive speed and, or inaccurate steering either on or exiting the bend which put Holly’s vehicle into a spin. It is extremely difficult to get the control back once the vehicle has begun rotating.”
Miss Carter was living with her mum in Accrington at the time of the crash.
Mum Gail Kirby, 44, told the Preston hearing: “I am surprised at the speed. When she has her little boy or me in the car she is only ever one or two miles over the speed limit. The only thing I can think of was whether she was late for work.
“Holly was a brilliant driver as far as I was concerned. She was a wonderful daughter, sister and mother and was so full of fun. She loved life and had everything to live for.”
The coroner recorded a conclusion of death following a Road Traffic Accident.