British woman died in Thailand after scooter drove into truck's path
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Version 0 of 1. An English badminton champion died in Thailand when her friend drove their scooter into the path of a truck, an inquest has heard. Rebecca Shaw, from Bradley, near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, was on her way to swim with elephants with Julie Robinson when the accident happened on a four-lane dual carriageway in Phuket in December 2015. Shaw, 32, who played for the England badminton team 10 times and was described by her family as a “real-life angel”, was travelling in Thailand after doing a yoga course in Bali. The inquest into her death at Bradford coroner’s court heard the exact details of the accident remained unclear due to conflicting accounts from witnesses. Martin Fleming, the coroner, said the driver of the Toyota pick-up truck, Natthaphon Klomkhan, told police he was driving at approximately 60k/mh (37.5mph) on the morning of 12 December 2015 when the scooter, on which Shaw was a passenger, drove from a side road across the lane of traffic and in front of his vehicle. Klomkhan said he braked, sounded his horn and flashed his lights but was unable to avoid a collision. Robinson, who could not be contacted to attend the inquest, said she checked there was no traffic before she drove across the road and claimed the driver was travelling too fast and failed to slow down, change lanes or pull into a large car park by the road. In an email sent by Robinson to the coroner in July, she said: “He just drove straight into the back of the scooter, sending both of us flying through the air at some height. “I believe the main cause of the accident was excessive speed by the pick-up driver.” Robinson described blood pouring from Shaw’s mouth after her head hit a metal barrier. She said the ambulance crew resuscitated her friend twice at the scene, but she was pronounced dead in hospital. The inquest heard police in Thailand had considered charging Robinson in connection with the accident. Fleming said photographs of the scene showed Robinson’s view would have been obscured and that crossing the carriageway would have left little margin for error. He said it was unclear whether Klomkhan was driving too fast. He ruled Shaw, who was wearing a helmet, died as a result of head injuries sustained in a road traffic collision. He said: “On 12 December 2015, Rebecca Leanne Shaw was riding pillion on a motor scooter when the driver made a right hand turn to cross a four-lane dual carriageway into the path of an approaching pick-up truck. As a result of the collision, she sustained fatal injuries.” In a eulogy read at the inquest by the coroner’s officer, Shaw’s mother, Marjorie Shaw, said: “She was a real-life angel who cared for everyone around her. Her presence always lit up the room.” |