A coroner has not ruled out preparing a report calling on action to prevent future deaths at the spot where a loving mum died after crashing into a barrier on the M4.
An inquest held at Swansea's Guildhall on Wednesday heard how Suzanne Regan died after the car she was driving, her partner Lyndsey Rees' black Suzuki SX4, collided with what was described as a "bullnose armco" barrier on an offslip lane at junction 44 for Llansamlet at around 5am on Saturday, January 16.
The 51-year-old, from Neath, drove over the barrier causing her vehicle to tip and roll onto its roof in an anti-clockwise direction before it came to a stop. Motorists Ashley Watkins and Amazon employee Jeevan Sanghera stopped their vehicles and came to her aid and called for the emergency services who arrived shortly after. But she tragically could not be saved with paramedics pronouncing her dead at the scene.
Mr Rees had been the last person to see his partner. She had fallen asleep on the sofa at his home in Neath Road in Briton Ferry and he went to bed. The next morning when he woke up Ms Regan had gone and so had his car. It was not uncommon for his partner to use his car so he assumed she had gone shopping, the inquest heard.
A full forensic investigation was carried out by police sergeant Chris Street which noted how the volume of traffic was light but the weather had been poor at the time with a lot of rain water on the road surface causing a spray effect. There had been poor lighting causing a lack of illumination on the chevron road markings prior to the offslip, the inquest heard. There had been no defects to the vehicle, which was in good condition with low mileage and proper grip to its tyres.
Ms Regan, who had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and had experienced issues of pain to her spine, had been travelling close behind a HGV vehicle on the approach to the slip road – another factor which could have caused the crash. She had not been wearing a seatbelt, which was a contributory factor to the injuries she sustained.
A statement was read out as part of the coroner's report on behalf of Ms Regan's mother, Christine Cole, which said: "Suzanne was a caring, beautiful, loving daughter and her death has broken my heart. I still expect her to walk through the door with her smiling face."
The medical cause of Ms Regan's death established during a post-mortem examination was abdominal injuries as a result of a road traffic collision. Blood samples taken for analysis by the Leicester Royal Infirmary noted how she had fluoxetine and etizolam in her system, which acting senior coroner Colin Phillips said combined could have had an effect on her driving.
Mr Phillips recorded a conclusion of road traffic collision due to driver error. He added that he felt the illumination at the junction was poor and also raised questions over the safety of the barrier. He said, pending further discussions with police officers, he may make a prevention against future deaths report to try and stop similar crashes happening in the future.
In a statement that was given following Ms Regan's death her daughter Amy Preddy said: “My mum was a very doting and loving mother and also grandmother to little baby Ivy-Rose, who was the apple of her eye. I am so glad my mum had the opportunity to meet my daughter Ivy-Rose and those are memories I will treasure forever.
“My heart is totally shattered and I can’t imagine life without her. I give you my promise mum that I will always look after Ivy-Rose and give her enough love from both of us. My mum was a massive support for me and over these past few months she has barely left my side and has continued to love and support me and by doing so has made me a better person that I am today.
“I will love you forever mum. You are my best friend and I really don’t know how I am going to carry on without you but I have to carry on for little baby Ivy-Rose.”
Ms Regan's family also paid the following tribute to her. A statement read: “As a family we are devastated and heartbroken by the sudden death of our loving mum, partner, sister, daughter and grandmother. All nieces, nephews, and extended family are saddened by her tragic death and as a family we are trying to make sense of what has happened.”
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