A pensioner died when she was pinned against her own house by a camper van being reversed by her partner, an inquest heard.
Susan Hall, 70, died as a result of the accident on her driveway in Valley Road, Wivenhoe, on July 29 last year.
Her partner was parking his Toyota camper van having just collected it from its MOT at about 12.40pm when disaster struck, Essex Coroner’s Court heard.
“[It] was in the process of being parked on the driveway by her partner. The vehicle rolled back, striking her and trapping her against her house,” said area coroner Michelle Brown.
Police officers and paramedics were called to the couple’s home where they found Ms Hall “was not making any respiratory effort”.
She was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic at 1.21pm.
A forensic post-mortem examination found she died as a result of multiple injuries she suffered.
Ms Brown ruled the pensioner’s death was an accident on Tuesday morning.
Evidence read to the court detailed how a neighbour initially thought it was “embarrassing” that Ms Hall’s partner had allowed his vehicle to crash into the house.
But when she saw Ms Hall lying on the doorstep of her property, she immediately called the ambulance service.
She said the couple lived between Wivenhoe and Spain and often parked the vehicle in the road, but on this occasion the partner opted to park it on the driveway.
Ms Brown said: “Ms Hall’s partner was returning home following the MOT of his camper. She was awaiting his arrival with a set of wheel chocks.
“At some point during his descent he lost control of the vehicle.
“Collision investigators say it seems probable that this was a result of pedal failure, failure to brake or simply misjudgment.
“There is nothing suspicious; there was no alcohol involved or criminal offences. Tragically, this was just an accident.
“There were no defects with the car, nothing that would have caused or contributed to this.”
The coroner passed on her sympathies to the family of Ms Hall.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here