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Sylvia Martin from Sittingbourne died after pulling onto A249 from Oad Street junction
09:16, 24 July 2019
updated: 14:02, 24 July 2019
A grandmother died after pulling onto the A249 at a busy junction.
Sylvia Martin, from Sittingbourne, died in April 2018 after her white Ford Fiesta collided with a red Vauxhall Insignia on the Maidstone-bound carriageway at the Oad Street junction.
An inquest has heard how the Vauxhall she collided with had undertaken one van and was accelerating sharply from the Stockbury Roundabout.
PC Mark Chapelhow told the inquest the Vauxhall undertook a Citroen Berlingo and returned to the right hand lane as there was a Ford Focus travelling slowly in the left hand lane.
Assistant coroner Geoffrey Smith told the inquest: "While not following the advice of the highway code, he still reduced his speed to within the relevant speed limit by the time the collision occurred."
At the time of the crash, the Vauxhall was travelling at around 58mph, but had previously reached speeds of 68mph, still under the national speed limit.
Crash investigators found Ms Martin, a divorced meteorologist, would have been able to see the Vauxhall when she pulled out of Oad Street junction, where she had been sat for 28 seconds, intending to cross the carriageway and join Sittingbourne-bound traffic.
Neither driver was found to be over the drink-drive limit following the crash, which happened at around 6.30am and closed the road for most of the day.
PC Chapelhow said officers studied dashcam footage, which showed she intended to leave the junction after the Focus passed.
"Sylvia was an amazing woman, who would do anything for anyone – a loving and thoughtful nanny, idolised by her grandchildren" - Sylvia Martin's family
He said: "It's clear she consciously made that decision to accelerate once that Focus had crossed her path. In her mind it was clear for her to go."
When asked if the acceleration of the Vaxuhall contributed to the crash, PC Chapelhow would not speculate.
He said: "The primary cause of the collision remains with the decision of Mrs Martin to pull out of the junction."
Mr Smith described the incident as a "tragic collision".
A statement from the 61-year-old's family read: "Sylvia was an amazing woman, who would do anything for anyone – a loving and thoughtful nanny, idolised by her grandchildren.
"She was devoted to her family as well as the cats she called her 'fur babies'."
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