Poor vision led to fatal crash

An inquest into the death of a Margate pensioner in a car crash near Consett, County Durham on October 31 2007 heard that she had been killed because she had not been wearing her spectacles.

The inquest at Darlington County Court earlier this month also heard testimony that 68-year-old Hilda Hickman had been driving on the wrong side of the road. She had already been stopped by another motorist who had been concerned she was swerving across the road.

Attempting to drive back to Kent that night, Hickman crashed head-on into another car. PC Dale Cowie of the Durham Constabulary told the inquest that Hickman’s practice, Boots Opticians in Margate, said her uncorrected visual acuity did not meet the requirements for driving.