A WOMAN from Betws-y-Coed suffered an “entirely accidental” death after she became trapped between her vehicle and a hedgerow in Abergele.

Mary Wynne Williams died aged 71 on December 23, 2022, following an incident on St George Road.

At a full inquest into her death, held in Ruthin today (January 17), Kate Robertson, assistant coroner for North Wales East and Central, recorded a conclusion of an accidental death.

The coroner recorded Mrs Williams’ cause of death as postural asphyxiation.

The inquest heard that Mrs Williams, a mother-of-three and former physiotherapist, who had lived alone following her husband’s death in 2011, had spent the afternoon of December 23 with her daughter, Elizabeth.

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In a statement, her daughter said that “driving didn’t faze my mother”, and that she was “confident in driving a multitude of vehicles, small or large”.

She recalled “nothing that caused me concern” about her mother during the time they spent together on December 23.

But at about 8.50pm that evening, a couple driving along St George Road noticed a Seat Leon vehicle – that which Mrs Williams had been driving – stuck in a hedge.

Efforts from the couple to gain some form of response from Mrs Williams also proved unsuccessful.

Dr Muhammad Aslam, in undertaking Mrs Williams’ post-mortem examination, found “no significant underlying pathology”, or any internal injuries of note.

Indeed, no alcohol or drugs were detected within Mrs Williams’ system at the time of her death.

Brian Grocott, a forensic collision investigator for North Wales Police, said no faults or defects were found in the vehicle, nor was there evidence that Mrs Williams had been using her mobile phone.

The conditions of the road or environment were also not considered contributory to the crash.

A pair of glasses belonging to Mrs Williams were found at the scene, some distance further up the steep road from where the crash occurred, but they were folded and did not appear damaged.

Mrs Williams’ upper body was found inside the vehicle but her lower body outside it, suggesting she had alighted from it for some reason, he said.

For an unknown reason, Mr Grocott said, she “probably attempted to steer while out of the vehicle while it was in motion”.

Ultimately, he concluded that her death was “probably wholly attributable to the unknown actions of Mrs Williams”.

Concluding, Mrs Robertson said that, while there is no evidence as to why Mrs Williams alighted from her vehicle, her death was “entirely unexpected and unintentional on her part”.

Following her death, her family said in tribute: “She will leave a huge hole in the lives of her family and many friends.

“Mary was an incredibly fun, caring, and energetic presence. She loved to dance at parties, play practical jokes, and travel.

"There was always a project or an adventure on the horizon.”