A young mum who got behind the wheel after she had been out drinking crashed her car into a tree and died. Sarah Smith had been celebrating passing her exams to become a paramedic earlier in the evening.
The army veteran, 32, was “significantly intoxicated” when she got into her Audi A1 on the night of October 14 last year, an inquest heard. She lost control of her car as she drove around the right-hand bend in West Paddock, Leyland, heading in the direction of Tesco, and across a grassed area before smashing into a tree.
Sarah was taken by ambulance to Royal Preston Hospital after firefighters cut her from her car, LancsLive reports. Surgeons operated on her to try and repair her heavily damaged liver, however she was pronounced dead the next day.
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At an inquest held on Monday (February 27) at Preston Coroner's Court, collision investigator PC Brendan Williams revealed that an examination of Sarah's car found no defects and she had been wearing her seatbelt at the time of the crash. Marks on the road and grassed area indicated that she had not attempted to brake after her car left the road.
"The vehicle had left the road to its offside, hit the kerb, travelled across the grass then across the junction with Jubilee Court before colliding with a tree," PC Williams said. "There weren't any witnesses but there was some CCTV from a property which showed the latter stage of the collision.
"The vehicle had just negotiated a right-hand bend. It just appeared that the driver had continued to turn right and then left the road. There was no attempt to return back to the carriageway and no evidence the vehicle was braking.
"If a vehicle is braking when it goes onto the grass, which was very soggy at the time, the wheels tend to lock before the ABS releases and you get drag marks that pull the grass up but there was no evidence that was the case. There was nothing that suggested anything other than driver error."
PC Williams was provided details of a toxicology test which revealed that Sarah, mum to two boys, had been "significantly intoxicated" at the time of the crash. Her blood alcohol reading was 228mcg which is almost three times the legal limit for driving of 80mcg.
Police examined Sarah's phone after the crash. Assistant Coroner Kate Bisset said: "She had been celebrating passing her paramedic examinations prior to getting into her vehicle on the night in question."
A post mortem CT scan revealed that Sarah's liver was "shattered and in multiple parts". The cause of death was given as traumatic liver injury.
Returning a conclusion of road traffic collision, the coroner added: "Sarah Smith died on October 13, 2022, at the Royal Preston Hospital from injuries sustained in a road traffic collision. She had consumed alcohol before getting into her vehicle."
After Sarah's death, friends raised more than £6,000 to help her husband Peter pay for "the send-off she deserves". Pauline Evans who set up the fundraiser on GoFundMe said on the fundraising page: "I am raising funds on behalf of Sarah’s family. Sarah, a beautiful young mother of two boys, tragically lost her life in a car accident on 14/10/22 in Leyland.
"Please help me in raising as much as we can to give Sarah the send-off she deserves and support her two boys who are now left without a mum. Sarah was a beautiful soul and served in the army for 10 years. She was selfless, kind and a great mum. Anyone who knew Sarah would say she was the life and soul of the party with an amazing sense of humour and life will never be the same without her.
"Anything you can give would be greatly appreciated, no matter how big or small. Sarah we love you forever and always."
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