IT is not possible to determine how an 81-year-old woman came to be driving in the wrong lane before a fatal collision earlier this year, an inquest concluded yesterday.
Susan Carolyn Wheeler, who went by Sue, died at the age of 81 at Jersey Hospice, having been involved in a collision on 20 May.
Mrs Wheeler’s son described her as a “fiercely independent” woman who loved seeing her friends. She visited her family overseas, was part of several clubs in the Island, and attended music events.
She had three children and ten grandchildren.
She was on her way to pick up a friend ahead of an art class when the collision happened on Route de la Maitrerie.
Deputy Viscount Matt Berry, sitting as coroner, said it would “remain a mystery” why Mrs Wheeler’s car was in the wrong lane.
The inquest heard how the driver coming in the other direction had no time to stop and the two vehicles collided head-on.
She suffered serious injuries and made the decision to go into palliative care. She died on 18 June at Jersey Hospice.
Advocate Berry found that Mrs Wheeler died of respiratory failure, a result of the chest injuries she suffered in the collision. Other underlying health conditions made it difficult for her to recover, he said.
