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#Post#: 306545--------------------------------------------------
Nurse, 35, Killed In Car Crash May Have Fallen Asleep At Wheel
After 12-Hour Night Shift
DIR By: myschooltalkpaul
Date: September 6, 2018, 7:48 am
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A mother-of-two killed in car crash may have fallen asleep at
wheel after a 12-hour night shift as a hospital nurse, an
inquest has heard. Corina Diaconu, 35, was driving the 50 miles
home to Bournemouth, Dorset, after finishing work at Yeovil
Hospital in Somerset on Mother's Day morning.
But her car failed to take a bend and veered into an oncoming
vehicle at 8.30am on March 11. She was killed almost instantly
from multiple injuries.
A police accident investigator believed Miss Diaconu either fell
asleep or was distracted by a mobile phone on her lap which she
was using as a satnav. The inquest heard Miss Diaconu had the
option to take an hour-long break, but chose instead to take
several short breaks during her 12-hour shift.
The crash happened on the A35 at Bloxworth, near Poole, when her
Vauxhall Astra collided with a Peugeot Expert people carrier
being driven by Richard Maes, who had four adult passengers.
All the people in the Peugeot suffered serious injuries and were
freed by firefighters.
Mr Maes, 55, was taken to hospital by air ambulance and his
passengers - a man and woman aged in their 20s, a woman in her
40s and a teenager, also went to hospital.
Dorset Police Sergeant Craig Tatton, who investigated the crash,
said: 'Nobody knows exactly what happened. But our working
hypothesis is that she either fell asleep or was distracted by
the satnav.'
Dr Christopher Smith, who witnessed the crash, said he became
aware of Miss Diaconu's car when it approached him at speed from
behind as he travelled east towards Poole, and the car appeared
to veer within its lane before the crash.
He said: 'I went round the bend but the car behind me went
straight on and collided head-on with a vehicle coming the other
way.'
Dr Smith and his wife, who is also a doctor, stopped at the
scene but said the nurse had 'no signs of life'.
Her mobile phone was found in her lap with the satnav still on.
The Smiths helped the injured passengers in the people carrier
until the emergency services arrived.
Mr Maes told the inquest: 'We were all conscious and aware of
what was happening. I realised I was trapped from the waist
down. It was Mother's Day and this will stay with me forever,
for the lady's family and my own.'
Assistant Dorset Coroner Brendan Allen recorded a verdict that
Miss Diaconu died from a road traffic collision.
She leaves behind a two-year-old son in Bournemouth and a
14-year-old daughter who lives in her native Romania.
Today, one neighbour told how Miss Diaconu had complained of
feeling tired due to her work before her death.
They said: 'I didn't know her well but we would say hello to
each other. Once I asked how she was and she said she was really
tired.
'She said she had started working for an agency to make some
extra money. We could often heard her son crying, especially in
the night, so I'm sure she was tired just being a mum let alone
working long shifts.'
By Mark Duell | Mailonline
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