Drink /drive crsh victim was not wearing a seat belt

Margaret Austin, 55, was not wearing a seatbelt when she failed to steer away from parked cars in a lay-by, concluded coroner Alan Craze.

She was driving towards Eastbourne on December 4 last year when her Nissan hit the rear of a Vauxhall Astra, shunting it across the pavement and sending her car spinning down the road.

Witness Katherine Baldock, from Eastbourne, described hearing the crash and seeing the Nissan spinning down the road towards the traffic lights as she was travelling towards Hastings.

"As I carried on up towards the 40 mile per hour sign I heard an enormous sound - a bang! Crash! and I looked to my right and I saw the car spinning."

Acting Sergeant Paul Masterson was the first police officer at the scene. He said: "Mrs Austin was trapped in the passenger side but her lower body was still in the driver's side.

"At the time I arrived she wasn't breathing."

Firefighters cut her out of the car and she regained consciousness. Sergeant Masterson said she was coherent by the time she was in the ambulance.

Mrs Austin, of Kestrel Close, had to undergo an operation to her abdomen in the days after the crash.

Pathologist Dr Boxer said she died on December 16 at the Conquest Hospital as a result of a huge blow to the stomach.

Coroner Alan Craze said: "This was a classic case where wearing a seatbelt could have prevented the injuries being as serious as they were.

"I am satisfied that the pathologist is correct, having read hospital notes as well, that the death was caused by the serious internal injuries Margaret received.

"Speed was not involved in this. I am quite satisfied that the vehicle she was driving was within the speed limit and at a speed that was appropriate for the road conditions."

There were no signs of heart attack or other similar medical condition which may have prevented Mrs Austin from steering the car according to the post mortem.

There were also no signs that she braked before the crash, according to Acting Sergeant Masterson.

Mr Craze said: "For some reason, Mrs Austin simply failed to turn the car to the right when the bend to the right starts.

He recorded a verdict of accidental death.