Inquest hearing into girls’ deaths adjourned

An inquest hearing into the death of two girls following a collision on the road between Blackhall Colliery and Horden has been adjourned.

Three-year-old Kelsey Marie Mary Maggie Stokes and Shauna Christina Stokes, 17, died following the collision between a blue Peugeot 206 and a van on the A1086 Coast Road on Wednesday, September 2, 2020.

The toddler died on the same day as the crash, while

Shauna died the next day after being taken to hospital.

The girls, who were related to each other and were from Londonderry in Northern Ireland, had been on their way to a birthday celebration for Shauna and her twin sister Kelly.

Scores of tributes were left close to the scene following the tragedy.

County Durham and Darlington Coroner’s Office has been holding regular preinquest hearings into their deaths.

The latest adjourned the case once more until a further mention on Monday, May 10, at Crook Coroner’s Court, after hearing there had been no further developments.

Previous hearings have been told a decision is awaited from the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to the charge of a woman, who is related to the girls and was driving at the time of the collision.

Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield has told previous hearings he would await further details to help him decide whether a final hearing should be held or if other proceedings would need to go ahead first, putting the inquest on hold.

A total of seven people were taken to hospital following the collision, which happened at around 2.30pm, and led to the road being closed off for several hours.