A young mother was killed instantly after driving into the path of an HGV while checking her phone, an inquest has heard.
Chloe Lightfoot had been travelling home to Spennymoor in Durham on the morning of August 26 when her self-converted Citroen Berlingo campervan collided with a lorry on the A66.
The 33-year-old, who was mother to a young boy, had just finished a late shift at Britain’s highest pub the Tan Hill Inn, where she slept after clocking off.
An inquest at Crook Coroners’ Court heard the sales administrator and barmaid was over the drink-drive limit with traces of cocaine in her system when she pulled out at the junction with Rutherford Lane just after 8am.
But phone records also showed she had unlocked her device at the exact time of the crash – with investigators concluding this caused her to not spot the oncoming truck.
Speaking after the inquest, My Lightfoot’s mother, Karen Hodgson, said: ‘If one person might read this and think twice before using their phone or driving after doing drink or drugs the night before then I think that is an important message.’
The inquest heard the lorry struck her van, shunting it into the road and then onto a grass verge. Ms Lightfoot suffered fatal head and chest injuries.
The HGV driver Jonathan Robinson said in a statement that he was ‘in shock’ in the immediate aftermath of the collision.
Karen Hodgson said: ‘Chloe loved life, she loved going to the Lake District. She was spontaneous, she was always on the go’
He added: ‘I sat in shock in my vehicle, I took out my phone to call emergency services, once connected I realised I had not been to check on the occupant of the van, so I hung up got out of my vehicle and made my way across.
‘As I got to the vehicle, I could see the driver was a female, she was sitting in the driver’s seat. I screamed, there were members of the public running up to come and help and I kept saying “I think she’s dead”.’
He added the time between spotting the vehicle to the crash ‘seemed to be an instant.’
Another HGV driver at the scene, Mark Wilson, said: ‘I believe there was not anything he could have done to prevent the collision.’
Assistant Coroner Leslie Hamilton concluded Ms Lightfoot’s death was caused by a road traffic collision, contributed to by cocaine, alcohol, and phone use.
He added: ‘She pulled onto the A66, realised as she entered that an HGV was coming, braked but was too late and the car had gone into the path of the HGV, due to her being impaired by the presence of cocaine, alcohol and her phone use.’
Ms Hodgson paid tribute to her daughter – who leaves behind son Jax, eight, – and thanked members of the local community for raising £26,000 to support Jax in her memory.
She said: ‘Chloe loved life, she loved going to the Lake District.
Ms Lightfoot’s friend Simone Goodchild said: ‘Chloe was my best friend, she lit up every room she walked in, not just because of how beautiful she was but because her personality was so bubbly and witty.’ The pair are pictured here together
‘She was spontaneous, she was always on the go.
‘She loved spending time with Jax, whether that was going to the Lakes. She had converted her van into a camper van, and they used to go to the Lakes nearly every weekend in the summer she could with him.
‘She would get up really early in the morning to take Jax to see the sunrise, to the beach.
‘She was a devoted mam but obviously struggled with finances and had to do two jobs, but she would do anything for her family.
‘The money that was donated for Jax is now all safe and in a savings account for him. We just really want to thank anyone who had donated, and the Tan Hill Inn who doubled the earnings which made it reach over £26,000.’
The GoFundMe page was set up by Ms Lightfoot’s friend Simone Goodchild.
She said: ‘Chloe was my best friend, she lit up every room she walked in, not just because of how beautiful she was but because her personality was so bubbly and witty.
‘She brought energy into every room, and she was just very funny. Everyone who met her instantly loved her.
‘She is going to be missed very much. She was the person I would go to if I had a hard time, and she always made it better.’
