A young woman who suffered severe neck injuries in a fatal car crash was not wearing a seatbelt and would have been killed almost instantly, an inquest heard.
Evidence at the coroner’s hearing revealed the Mercedes C Class driven by Natalie Marshall clipped a pedestrian refuge before colliding with a tree on the A167 near Coatham Mundeville, on the outskirts of Darlington.
Crook Coroner’s Court heard the 25-year-old, from St Helen Auckland, died shortly after 3am on June 17.
Read more: Moving words from friend who survived fatal car crash: 'She was like a sister'
The mobile phone saleswoman had been visiting friends in Middlesbrough and was on her home with her friend, Chris Walton, when the collision occurred.
In his statement, Mr Walton, who suffered leg injuries, said he had fallen asleep in the car on the A66 but did not think Natalie had been speeding.
The alarm was raised by a crash sensor in her car which sent a signal to a call centre, where a member of staff called police.
Specialist road policing officers from Durham Constabulary examined her vehicle and could not find any defects that may have contributed to the crash.
The court heard there were streetlights at the scene of the collision but they were not working.
Ashleigh Bentham, a forensic collision investigator, said: “She has probably realised she was going towards the pedestrian refuge, which has caused her to try and steer out of the way.
“Because of the position of the car and the damage to the front off-side wheel we concluded that it hit a tree. It had a significant impact.”
Ms Bentham also said it looked like the seatbelts had been locked in place beneath the occupants of the driver and her passenger.
She said: “It is common for people to want to be annoyed by the sound of the car warning them that the seatbelt if off, so they plug them in behind them so they don’t have to hear it.
“Because of the way seatbelts work, they lock in place once the collision happened so it is more likely that this is how they were sat at the time of the collision.”
A post-mortem examination was carried out by a Home Office pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton and toxicology tests revealed Natalie did not have any drugs or alcohol in her system.
In her report, Dr Bolton said she found a total of 37 injuries, including damage to her spine, neck and limbs.
She said: “The post-mortem examination has showed that Natalie Marshall died of neck injuries.
“The effect of these injuries would be to almost instantaneous collapse with death ensuring a very short time later.”
The court was told a canister of nitrous oxide was found in the passenger footwell of the car but there was no way of telling whether Natalie had taken any.
Dr Bolton said: “Toxicological analysis show no evidence of alcohol or drugs that would have affected her cognition or reactions at the time of death. There is no evidence of the use of drugs.
“It is not possible to test for nitrous oxide. This is a volatile substance which is rapidly removed from the body by the lungs and has short-lived effects.”
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Senior Coroner for County Durham and Darlington Jeremy Chipperfield recorded a verdict of accidental death.
He after said: “The injuries were extremely severe and she would have lost consciousness and died very soon after the collision.
“I am afraid the evidence does not reveal what happened or why.”
Natalie was a popular member of the community in Bishop Auckland and the surrounding areas.
After the hearing, Chloe Coleman, Natalie’s older sister said: “It has been a tragic accident. It feels like it just happened yesterday.
“She is going to be missed forever.”
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