A young woman had been drinking and was over the legal limit for driving when she fell to her death from a bridge after her car burst into flames.

Azra Kemal, 24, died on July 16 on the A21 between Sevenoaks and Tonbridge.

Miss Kemal was described as stumbling and unsteady when she spoke to a police officer an hour before her death, after he spotted her car on the A27, with its lights off.

She then sped off at over 100 mph.

Coroner Alan Blundson said that “the alcohol and the emotions are likely to have contributed to a lack of clear judgement,” when describing the events and actions that led to her death.

Miss Kemal had been desperately trying to seek help after her car burst into flames in the early hours of the morning and had been running across the road with her friend to try and flag down other motorists.

Unbeknown to her, as she climbed over a waist-high barrier, she had strayed onto a bridge over Haysden County Park. She slipped through a small gap between the two separate carriageways and plunged to her death.

Her mum Nevres Kemal said there should have been more safety measures on that stretch of road.

She said:“I suggest you should introduce a hard shoulder, CCTV, lighting, a barrier, and signs because this will not cost a lot of money.

“My daughter lost her life, may she be the last person to lose their life, please can you ensure this is reviewed.”

In response Nicola Bell, regional director of operations in the south east at Highways England said: “Any accident is absolutely tragic, and I am sorry for your loss. There are some points today that you raised that I will of course take away.”

At the Shepway Centre in Maidstone today the inquest heard about the safety features of the road which is a clearway.

The coroner raised concerns those stranded on the bridge in an emergency in the dark would not have known the nature of the road, or the fact there was a 30ft drop to the ground.

The road has no street lights and no signs to alert people they are crossing a river or are on a bridge.

The A21 between Tonbridge and Sevenoaks, where Azra died, splits into two separate bridges, as it crosses over the River Medway.

Mrs Bell said: "The A21 is not alone in that design. It is the same for the M2 over the River Medway, and on the M25 as it passes over the Thames."

Drone footage of the site shows the top of some trees poking through the gap between the two bridges.

Coroner Alan Blunsdon suggested this may have misinformed Azra into believing there was ground below her feet.

He made the suggestion to Highways England to reassess the road's condition at night to see if this was a reasonable assumption.

Mrs Bell continued to stress the fact the responsibility for Highways England was for the safety of road users and those in vehicles and the agency would not encourage any pedestrians to attempt to cross a carriageway.

The barrier Azra climbed over was slightly higher than 1.5 metres.

A toxicology report found Azra, a Law graduate, was above the blood alcohol limit. She was found to have 104 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80 milligrammes.

The inquest into her death began on November 12, where it was heard Azra had been driving and had come to the attention of an off duty officer when her car was seen stopped without lights showing, on the A27 in Sussex.

This was around an hour before her car caught fire.

Acting Police Sergeant James Savill explained help would be on its way, adding that he saw Azra stumble when she got out of the car and she seemed unsteady. He suspected she had been drinking but could not smell alcohol on her breath.

Sgt Savill said he later heard the car start and said Azra had driven off at speed in excess of 100mph.

Omar Allen was a friend of Azra and her passenger that night. He had earlier told the hearing of how they fled the car fire and began crossing the road to summon help.

He said: "She had crossed over a higher railing as I was crossing the road and that's when I heard her fall.

"Her screams went on for so long, I knew it was far down.

"I came to the barrier and she was screaming for me to come down."

Mr Allen bravely tried to leap from the barrier, to cling to a tree. He said it was dark and he couldn't see his friend.

Emergency services were called at around 2.30am and fought to save her life but sadly, Azra died at the scene.

Mr Blunsdon recorded a verdict of misadventure.

He will write a letter to Highways England inviting them to consider the matters highlighted in the inquest with the intention of preventing further deaths.

Paying tribute to her daughter, a 'miracle baby', Azra's mother said: "Azra was feisty and full of life and she always believed she is what she is.

"Now we will try to live in Azra's memory and legacy with her go fund me, with the Azra Kemal memorial at LSE, and that's what my aim will be, to help support people who had low self esteem like Azra. She is my everything and she will not die, her name will live on."

Azra, a trainee solicitor, studied at the London School of Economics and a scholarship award is being created in her memory.

A GoFundMe page set up by her mother has secured donations of more than £6,500 for the new award.

Azra had also worked with Sky News on a documentary about life on the streets of north London, including interviews about county lines drug dealing and with children exploited as drugs mules.

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