Family tells inquest into death of woman on M1 smart motorways are 'dangerous'

The family of a grandmother who died after her car broke down on a stretch of the M1 with no hard shoulder has told an inquest into her death that smart motorways are "dangerous and flawed".

Nargis Begum, from Sheffield, was a passenger in her husband's car when it was forced to stop near Woodhall Services.

After getting out of the car, she was hit by a Mercedes car and died of her injuries.

At the opening of her inquest at Doncaster Coroner's Court, a statement was read on behalf of Mrs Begum's daughter, Saima Akhtar.

She said her mother was a "gem of a woman" with an "infectious smile", who was the "heart and soul" of the family. She said her death had left a constant void in their lives.

Her statement added: "We all believe the smart motorway system is dangerous and flawed - if there had been a hard shoulder my dad would have ended up there."

The court also heard a statement from Mrs Begum's husband, Mohammed Bashir, who was driving the Nissan Qashqai when it broke down on 9 September, 2018. He pulled over to the far left and put the hazard lights on.

Mr Bashir managed to climb over the safety barriers, but it was too high for his wife.

In a statement read by Bridget Dolan QC, he told the court all he could hear was "the horrendous impact" of the Mercedes hitting their car.

There were no lights on the stretch of motorway so Mr Bashir was unable to find his wife until another driver stopped and turned on a torch light.

Mr Bashir said in his statement: "I don't want to describe what I saw as it is still too upsetting."

He told police that until this incident he was "unaware of any changes to the Highway Code, nor the fact that the motorway had changed to a smart version."

The inquest heard the driver of the Mercedes, Kantrimas Zukauskas, who was initially arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, had refused to give evidence at the hearing.

Ms Dolan read from a transcript of Mr Zukauskas' interviews with police, in which he said: "I just don't know how I did it, that's all. If I hit it, I didn't see it."

The inquest heard evidence from another motorist, Mark Sheriff, who told the inquest he was passing the broken-down vehicle when he saw a car behind him "coming at a speed - about 90mph".

He said: "It went straight across the front of me, no brake lights, and the next thing I knew were just an almighty smash. There was debris all over the road."

Last year senior coroner Nicola Mundy asked South Yorkshire Police to consider whether Highways England should face corporate manslaughter charges over Mrs Begum's death.

In February, the force said the organisation, now renamed National Highways, will not be charged after Crown Prosecution Service advice that it did not owe road users a "relevant duty of care" under the terms set out in the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

The inquest continues.