A mum and daughter died when their car veered onto the wrong side of the road and ploughed into a lorry, an inquest heard.
"Best friends" Anwen Mitchelmore, 59, and Nancy Roberts, 84, were en route home from visiting family when the red Volkswagen Polo Mrs Mitchelmore was driving collided with a lorry.
Both mother and daughter were pronounced dead at the scene of the smash on the A487 on July 15 last year, NorthWalesLive reports.
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The pair, from Porthmadog, were travelling home from seeing family in Dyffryn Nantlle when the crash happened near Garndolbenmaen. Emergency crews including the air ambulance were called to the scene of the incident.
An inquest into their deaths, held in Caernarfon on Wednesday, heard how Mrs Mitchelmore had veered into the other lane and collided with an HGV driven by Gwyndaf Pritchard.
Forensic collision investigator for North Wales Police William Gordon Saynor was called to the scene following the crash. During the inquest hearing Mr Saynor said: "This collision occurred at 3.30pm and involved a DAF wagon travelling towards Caernarfon and a Volkswagen Polo being driven towards Porthmadog. Also travelling north was a tractor and trailer which was undamaged.
"Dashcam footage from a member of the public shows how the wagon overtook a tractor and trailer prior to Golan and prior to the collision. The footage shows that the wagon regained his own side of the road prior to the collision.
"Following my investigation I have eliminated environmental issues as being contributory factors to the accident and the vehicles were free from any pre-collision defects.
"The next thing to consider is the actions of the drivers involved. Morgan Elis Griffiths, who was driving the tractor, did not contribute in causing the collision.
"Physical evidence at the scene indicated that the collision occurred on the Caernarfon-bound lane.
"I am of the opinion that the VW Polo veered across into the path of the oncoming DAF goods vehicle.
"Physical evidence and dashcam footage supports that Mr Pritchard was on the correct side of road at time of the impact.
"He was travelling at 55mph at time of impact which is above the acceptable speed limit of 50mph. Given the circumstances I do not consider this to have been that relevant.
"There is no evidence available to say how fast the Polo was travelling but Mrs Mitchelmore's actions are significant when considering the cause of the collision.
"I am unable to account why Anwen crossed into the opposite lane but I am of the opinion that this collision was avoidable."
Both Mrs Mitchemore and Mrs Roberts were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the collision and no drugs or alcohol were detected in any of the drivers.
A post-mortem examination carried out on the pair showed that Mrs Mitchemlore sustained "musculoskeletal injuries" in the accident while her mother suffered "abdominal and chest trauma".
Acting senior coroner Katie Sutherland concluded that Mrs Roberts died from multiple internal injuries and Mrs Mitchelmore had died from multiple injuries as a result of a road traffic collision. Ms Sutherland also confirmed that Mrs Mitchelmore had not made or received any calls at the time of the crash and there was no evidence to suggest that she had fallen ill at the time.
A statement written by Mrs Mitchelmore's daughter Kiri Mitchelmore said her mother was a "safe and conscious driver" who had never been in a crash before after not passing her driving test until she was in her 50s.
She said: "Mam always looked after nain and took her shopping. They were the best of friends. Mam called her every night and visited her daily. She would take nain everywhere – to see friends and family and visit my taid's grave. They would often visit my nain's brother in a care home and then go for lunch.
"My mam was a brilliant mother and devoted grandmother. She always wanted the best for us kids and always spoilt her grandchildren.
"She was the backbone of our family and we are lost without her – it is totally devastating. She was the life and soul of our family."
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