A loving great-grandmother tragically passed away after she careered down a hill in her mobility scooter before crashing into a car.
Angela Carney, 65, was riding her second-hand mobility scooter along the A643 Westgate in Cleckheaton on September 26 when she was struck by a black Nissan Navara after failing to use her scooter’s brakes.
Despite being rushed to hospital, the 65-year-old suffered severe chest injuries and later died.
Now, following an inquest into her passing, a Prevention of Future Deaths report has found that the Mrs Carney inadvertently placed her scooter into freewheel drive which ‘prevented her from braking or taking evasive action’.
The inquest, which was issued by West Yorkshire senior coroner Martin Fleming, found that the great-grandmother had travelled at speed down the slope of Westcliffe Road before entering the path of the Nissan vehicle on the A643.
The driver of the vehicle was found to hold no fault in the incident, with blame instead apportioned to Mrs Carney’s scooter’s braking system.
A second-hand Monarch scooter model from 2005, the 65-year-old had originally purchased the mobility vehicle from her neighbour.
It was found to be roadworthy, but it did not contain a crucial fail-safe braking system which could have enabled an emergency stop.
As he issued his report, Mr Fleming expressed his fears that more mobility scooter users in Britain will die due to models not having emergency brakes installed.
Mrs Carney had been unable to use the scooter’s standard braking system due to the fact its engine was not turned on.
Some newer models of scooters do employ an emergency braking system which can be deployed in the case of freewheeling, but presently this is not a mandatory regulation for manufactures in the UK.
This was a fact highlighted in the senior coroner’s report, with Mr Fleming flagging his concern over the possibility that other older second-hand models are still being used, which have ‘worrying safety implications for riders and members of the public’.
It was this concern which ultimately saw him recommend a review to be undertaken by both the Department for Transport and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) into the potential fitting of hand brakes to all mobility scooters.
Britain has previously been labelled the ‘mobility scooter capital’ of Europe, with anywhere up to 400,000 estimated to be in use.
At the time of her death Mrs Carney’s family paid tribute saying: ‘Our dear mum, also loving nana, great nana, sister and auntie was tragically taken away from us, no words can describe the devastation this has caused.
‘Angela was a kind and loving soul whose door was always open to anyone; she will be sadly missed by her family and everyone that knew her.
‘I would like to take this opportunity to thank family and friends for all the support, the passers-by who stopped to help her, and the emergency services.’
Monarch Mobility, the Department of Transport and the MHRA have all been approached for comment by the .