A teenager died after she was struck by a van driven by her uncle in a tragic freak accident, an inquest has heard.
Grace Dyson, 18, was walking along Springwood Road, Thongsbridge, with her fiancé Jason Booth when an umbrella he was carrying became wedged in a wall and as he jolted it free it caused her to stumble into the road.
An inquest into Grace’s death at Huddersfield Coroner’s Court heard how she was then struck by a Nissan Cabstar driven by her uncle Ivan Beaumont who was on his way home from work.
He told the inquest how as he was driving along Springwood Road he saw his niece and her fiancé Jason walking towards them on the footpath.
He told in a police statement how he expected Grace to ‘look up’ as she would recognise his works van.
But the court heard how instead Grace stumbled into the road without warning, giving him no time to brake to avoid hitting her.
He said :”As I was coming towards her she sort of wobbled then regained her balance then fell into the road.
“I was too close, it happened too quick. I couldn’t see if she went under the wheel.
“I did not brake. I had no time”.
Floral tributes for Grace Dyson
Mr Booth also gave evidence and told how they had been walking to the chip shop when the accident happened.
He said: ”It was raining quite badly, we had an umbrella. It was a golf style umbrella, quite bulky.
“I was nearest the wall and a Grace was nearest the road on my left side.
He said he was putting the umbrella down as the trees provided some covering along the path but as he was holding it out to attach the strap to secure it shut it became stuck in the wall. He continued: “The metal end got caught slightly in the wall. It made me jolt to the left hand (wall) side.
“Her left foot slipped over into the road, I think that’s when she fell.
“It happened within spilt seconds.”
Coroner Mary Burke summarised Mr Booth’s evidence: “The umbrella gets caught in the wall, you stumble sideways, Grace stumbles into the road as the van comes towards her.”
Mr Booth said he saw Grace put her hands on the side of the vehicle, almost as if she had been trying to push herself away.
He said the next thing he saw was Grace lying in the road.
The court heard written evidence from Lesley Hardy who was travelling in the opposite direction and stopped to help.
Mr Hardy told how he saw a young man ‘in total and utter disbelief’ and a young woman lying in the road.
He phoned an ambulance and his wife, who was with him, began CPR until paramedics and a doctor arrived.
The court heard how Grace, of Dunford Road, was a popular young woman who loved languages and art and achieved almost straight A grades in her GCSEs at Holmfirth High School.
She continued her studies at Greenhead College and achieved good results in her A-levels and could have gone to university.
Her mother described her a ‘home bird’ who didn’t want to go away to university and had begun an office apprenticeship in Lockwood.
Grace’s mother said:”Grace’s death has left a emptiness in my heart.
“The way she died was such a tragic accident.
“I only feel comforted by the fact Grace had a full and happy life and I feel grateful to have known her.”
Grace and her fiancé Jason were considered ‘inseparable’ and had become engaged in January 2014.
Police investigations found that there were no defects with the works van and that Mr Beaumont had not consumed any alcohol or drugs.
Det Con Noel Lowden, of West Yorkshire Police Major Collision Enquiry Team concluded that there was nothing the driver or Mr Booth could have done to prevent the accident describing it as ‘tragic set of circumstances that Grace lost her footing at that exact time’.
A post mortem examination carried out showed Grace had no alcohol or drugs but had suffered two ‘very significant skull fractures and a small bleed on the brain’.
She also had bruising to her face and two broken ribs, which could possibly have been caused during attempts to resusitate her.
Coroner Mary Burke recorded that Miss Dyson died as a result of unstable skull fracture sustained during a road traffic accident.
She expressed the court’s sympathy to Grace’s family who were present in court.
