A woman who was tragically killed after crashing head-on with a taxi was likely eating KFC at the wheel.
Anna Ledgar, 28, from Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire, was on her way to work at Macclesfield Football Club when she strayed onto the wrong side of the road along the B5030 Ashbourne Road, between Uttoxeter and Rocester, shortly before 1 pm on October 18 where the crash happened.
The gym manager has been described as an “amazing” woman by her Boyfriend Greg Peters, who he says was his” ‘perfect” match.
An inquest has heard that her car either drifted or swerved over the central white line and into the path of an oncoming Peugeot taxi. The taxi driver who was seriously injured recalled a “massive bang,” the next thing he remembered was bleeding heavily and in pain.
The taxi driver said: “The collision happened on my side of the road and I had no chance at all to take evasive action, other drivers who rushed to the scene to help found Anna unresponsive in the driver’s seat called 999.
She was blue-lighted to Royal Stoke University Hospital but sadly succumbed to her injuries the following day.”
The inquest heard she had suffered an “unsurvivable” traumatic brain injury. Anna had been on the organ donor register and her final act was to donate her organs to help save the lives of six other people.
Never getting the chance to pop the question, Greg arranged for a vicar to give a blessing and placed a ring on Anna’s finger as she lay in her hospital bed. Greg, who lived with Anna, had been intending to propose to her.
The couple had spent the day before the crash enjoying a “perfect Sunday.” Anna had only recently been headhunted by Macclesfield FC to become the club’s gym manager and was due to work a late shift.
Greg got up first at 6:30 am and left for work, kissing goodbye to Anna as she remained in bed, Greg said: “She walked the dogs before going to work,” at 2:30 pm, he got a call to say she’d been involved in an accident and was in the hospital.
Greg said he had “never known” Anna to eat or drink while driving. She had also taken food with her to eat later that day, so he was surprised to hear she had called at KFC.
Another driver had stopped at the drive-thru to order food at 12:37 pm. She recalled seeing a woman in front of her collect a box at the window and another driver approaching from the opposite direction had to veer onto the grass verge to avoid a collision with Anna’s car.
In her rear-view mirror, she then saw the crash and described one of the vehicles “going up in the air.” The same woman then happened to be traveling several cars behind Anna when they both joined the B5030.
Her attention was drawn to the seat when it went into the opposing lane. In a statement, the witness said: “I was in total shock at the time, if I hadn’t taken the action I did, the car would have hit me. She made no attempt to get out of the way.”
Andrew Barkley, acting South Staffordshire senior coroner, said it “suggests very strongly” that Anna was eating at the time of the crash, he concluded that the death was due to a road traffic collision.
Paying tribute after her death, heartbroken Greg said: “Anna was just an amazing person, all she ever wanted was the best for people. She wanted to help people achieve their goals in the gym or just in life.”
Recommended Video For You!
Baby Flower Girl Makes Unforgettable Wedding Entrance