Mum-of-five on heroin caused crash on A16 that killed her and other …

A Grimsby mum-of-five had taken a potentially fatal level of heroin when she drove a BMW into the path of a van travelling on the A16 at North Thoresby, killing both herself and the other driver.

An inquest was told Mikah Chandler, 45, and the van driver Graham Ross, 34, both died instantly in the head-on crash on the southbound carriageway.

Ms Chandler had no driving licence or insurance and was driving her boyfriend's BMW towards Grimsby at around 9am on April 24, this year. A post mortem examination revealed both drivers died from multiple injuries.

A toxicology report revealed Ms Chandler had "a potentially fatal amount of heroin in her system." Lincolnshire coroner, Paul Cooper said there was also cocaine, pregabalin and diazepam in her blood.

Dashcam footage of the crash from Mr Ross' grey Ford van showed the black BMW pull out from behind a Ford Kuga into the path of the van. A forensic collision investigation report concluded Mr Ross would have had just one second in time to react.

In his conclusion, Mr Cooper said there was nothing the van driver could have done to avoid the head-on collision. He said both drivers died from multiple injuries as a consequence of a road traffic collision.

Mr Cooper said: "All those substances should not have been in her system as she drove. Mr Ross was the most unlucky man on this road in the wrong place at the wrong time on this day."

He added: "It is a tragedy this happened." He gave his condolences to the family of Mr Ross and the mother of Mikah Chandler.

The coroner said other motorists had been concerned about the manner of Ms Chandler's driving earlier on along the A16 from Louth to North Thoresby. One driver said he was concerned "the driver was going to kill someone because it was being driven recklessly and dangerously."

PC Tristan Hudson, of Lincolnshire Police^[1] said witnesses had seen the BMW being driven northbound and swerving to overtake other vehicles inappropriately. The coroner said Ms Chandler, a mother of five, had received several treatments with support group We Are With You, formerly AddAction, in Grimsby due to anxiety, bi-polar and psychotic episodes.

In February this year she failed to attend an appointment with a recovery worker and had disengaged with mental health agency, Navigo. PC Hudson said both the drivers had been wearing seatbelts at the time of the collision.

He said "The Ford van was wholly in its own lane." From dashcam footage and marks caused by the impact of the crash, PC Hudson said the van driver would have had 1.1 seconds to react.

Mini Cooper driver Stephanie Edgerton gave a witness statement in which she said she saw the BMW had earlier swerved in an overtaking move but pulled back into the correct northbound lane. She said the head-on impact was "instant" and there was no indicator flashing when the BMW pulled out. A father driving his daughter to school at Utterby told how he saw the BMW veer into the verge of the A16 earlier, narrowly missing two men in hi-vis vests. The BMW was also driven right up to his bumper . "I thought I was going to feel a nudge. I was concerned the driver was going to kill someone because the driving was so careless and dangerous.," he said.

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A lorry driver also told how he had to take avoiding action when the BMW cut him up after overtaking. He saw another car driver have to brake to avoid the BMW on a roundabout on the A16 at Louth. PC Hudson said both the BMW and the Ford van were being driven within the 60mph speed limit.

He said due to the level of intoxication Ms Chandler's driving would have been "lethargic." He said there was no evidence that she had been attempting to harm herself. "There was nothing he could have done to avoid the collision," the crash investigator said.

Relatives of Mr Ross described him as a "lovely and happy man." They asked if there had been any police response to the concerns of motorists earlier, one of whom called police to report dangerous driving. PC Hudson said he did not know if the report had been acted upon.

An alert was passed from Lincolnshire Police to Humberside Police four minutes before the fatal crash, the inquest heard.

Ms Chandler's mum, Lesley Cartwright said the BMW's owner was a boyfriend of Ms Chandler and he believed she had a driving licence. He gave her the car keys and was arranging insurance around that time, she said.

The mum said: "If he had known she did not have a licence, he would never have given her the keys." She later passed her condolences to the family of Mr Ross, through a coroner's officer.

References

1. ^{^} Lincolnshire Police (www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk)
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