A CORONER has recorded a verdict of accidental death on a 21-year-old Hatherleigh woman who died in a car accident on a Greek island.
Rachelle Hubbard was killed after her car went out of control and hit an olive tree on the main highway between Lithakia and Aghios Sostis on the island of Zakynthos on October 22, 2002.
An inquest in Okehampton heard that Rachelle, who was living on the island at the time, had been out with her boyfriend Matthew Tandy that evening, but had gone on to see friends in Laganas after he became tired.
Matthew said in a statement that Rachelle dropped him off at the house they were staying at in Lithakia at about 1.30am. He said she had not been drinking that night and did not drink and drive.
A driver for the Zakynthos Sanitary Services found Rachelle?s Renault car overturned just off the highway a few hours later and called the emergency services.
He said he saw a girl in the driver?s seat but he believed she was dead because her hand was colourless.
Rachelle was taken to the island?s general hospital and a post-mortem examination revealed that she died from multiple injuries.
The investigating officer said the car was a complete write-off and this was caused by a violent collision with a stationary object.
Nothing was faulty with the vehicle which could have contributed to the accident, the inquest heard. Weather conditions and visibility were good at the time.
Exeter and Greater Devon coroner Elizabeth Earland said she regretted that the inquest had not progressed sooner, but it had taken a long time to get the information surrounding Rachelle?s death from the Greek authorities. She expressed her condolences to the family.