A FOUR-car collision on the A30 near Okehampton, in which a pensioner died, was caused by drivers being blinded by the intensity of the sun as they turned a bend, an inquest concluded last week.
The accident occurred on the eastbound carriageway at a location known as the South Tawton dip at around 9am on December 30 last year.
Mildred Ferguson, 72, from Preston, who was the passenger in a Ford Focus driven by her son, Richard, from Stoke Climsland, died at the scene from multiple injuries.
Coroner Richard Van Oppen recorded a verdict of accidental death at the inquest in Okehampton.
Jeffrey Armiger from Callington, who was driving a Vauxhall Vectra, said in a statement that it was a clear, sunny and frosty day and the A30 had been gritted.
'As I turned the bend, the sun was about ten foot above the road and there was a strong glare from the sun and the damp road surface,' he said. 'I remember thinking, "God, is there anything in front of me and am I going to hit it?"'
Mr Armiger said he braked to a more suitable speed of between 50mph and 60mph and suddenly felt a jolt and heard a bang from behind which he described as 'totally unexpected'.
Two more vehicles became involved in the collision, the third of which was the Ford Focus carrying Mrs Ferguson.
Statements were also read out by the other drivers, who all described the intense brightness and low position of the sun in the sky.
Kenneth Ogden, who was driving a Citroen which collided with the first vehicle, said suddenly the sun completely blinded him.
'It was the worst I had ever experienced — I had zero visibility and I could not even see in my rear-view mirror,' he said.
MPC Rodney Shephard, who examined the Ford Focus and the Ford transit van which hit it, said in a statement that neither car had any mechanical defects which would have contributed to the accident.
The Ford Focus suffered both frontal and rear damage and ended up at right angles to the carriageway. He said the rear offside of the car had been pushed forward and the rear passenger department was completely non-existent.
He concluded the second vehicle was travelling some distance behind the first, but the driver had been blinded coming around the corner. The following drivers had experienced the same thing. Only the Ford Transit had appeared to try and avoid the collision by swerving into the central reservation.
Mr Van Oppen read out a letter from Mrs Ferguson's daughter-in-law, Alison, who paid tribute to the emergency services for their help on the day of the accident and those that followed it.
'I want to thank everyone who helped my mother-in-law, my husband, my children and myself,' said Mrs Ferguson, who runs Stoke Climsland Post Office with her husband, Richard. 'The personnel from the emergency services and the staff of the Royal Devon and Exeter and Derriford Hospitals could not have been more caring and more helpful to all of us.'
She made special mention of MPC Tim Sleath from Newton Abbot Traffic: 'We cannot describe our gratitude to him for his help through this harrowing episode in our lives,' she said.