County council warned over lack of road safety after woman, 91, drove into canal
Doreen Turner died on the evening of November 1 last year after her car went into the canal in Chichester, west Sussex.
A coroner has told a county council it must address its lack of road safety features, after an elderly women drowned by driving into a canal.
Doreen Turner, 91, died on the evening of November 1 last year, after her car went into the canal in Chichester, west Sussex, when there was no evidence of mechanical failure in the vehicle or impairment of the driver.
She reached the canal via South Bank, a residential cul-de-sac where another driver had previously entered the waterway in the same place in the last five years.
An inquest into her death heard that the kerbing at the end of the road, which is managed by West Sussex County Council, was less than the standard height.
Joanne Andrews, area coroner for West Sussex, said the inquest also heard there were “no devices present to prevent a vehicle which passes over the kerbstones from entering the canal”.
Besides the kerbing, there was only a five-foot long grass section at the end of the road between the road and the canal.
It is not clear why the car ended up in the canal, Ms Andrews said.
The coroner added: “In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe your organisation has the power to take such action.”
The inquest, which concluded last month, found Ms Turner died as a result of drowning having entered the water.
Copies of the coroner’s prevention of future deaths report were sent to West Sussex County Council, Ms Turner’s family and the chief coroner for England and Wales.
A West Sussex County Council spokesperson said: “Our condolences are with the friends and family for their tragic loss.
“We are currently reviewing this site in consultation with Sussex Police and will be responding to the coroner accordingly.”
