Mystery over woman's lying in road crash death

A woman was lying on a main road at night when she was hit by a car and killed, an inquest has heard.

Anna Llewelyn Roberts, 27, had been walking home along an unlit road near Pwllheli in Gwynedd when she was struck by a Ford Focus car in the early hours of 20 August 2022.

A crash investigator told a hearing in Caernarfon that it would have been almost impossible for the driver to have seen Ms Roberts and avoid her.

The coroner recorded a conclusion that Ms Roberts died as a result of a road traffic collision.

The inquest was told Ms Roberts had been at a nightclub in Pwllheli and left at about 01:35 in the morning, heading towards a taxi rank.

However, CCTV footage showed there were no taxis there, and Ms Roberts began walking the three miles towards her home in the nearby village of Y Ffôr.

About 40 minutes later she was struck by a car driven by David Wyn Jones on the main A449 road.

Crash investigator Ian Thompson said he could not say how she came to be lying in the road, but speculated she may have stumbled and fallen on an uneven surface.

Mr Jones told the inquest that he saw what appeared to be an object on the road, but it was not until he was "really close that we realised it was something more".

"As soon as I realised there was something there I braked immediately," he said.

He described telling his partner "I think I've hit something, I think it was a person".

Mr Thompson said it was clear from the damage to the car that it was the only vehicle involved, and that it also showed Ms Roberts had been lying down at the time, near the centre white line of the road.

However, he said given the fact it was dark, the road was unlit, and Ms Roberts was wearing dark clothing, the driver would have had only seconds at best to spot her and react.

"I think it would have been very difficult for Mr Jones," said Mr Thompson.

He told the coroner's court it would have been "almost impossible" for the driver to avoid Ms Roberts.

Evidence from pathologist Dr Brian Rogers found Ms Roberts was more than twice over the legal limit of alcohol to drive.

In a statement read in court, Dr Rogers said: "That would have made her somewhat unstable on her her feet."

However, Mr Thompson said footage as she left the Pwllheli nightclub showed her "walking with purpose" and not staggering.

"It would be difficult to say she was highly intoxicated," he added.

The hearing was told Ms Roberts would have been killed immediately after suffering multiple injuries, including to her head.

In a statement read out in the inquest, Ms Roberts' mother said her daughter, who worked for the television company Rondo, would be "sorely missed".

"She lived for her partner, her daughter and her work," said Mrs Roberts.

"She had so many plans for them and adventures."

Recording her conclusion, the senior coroner for north-west Wales Kate Robertson offered her condolences to Ms Roberts' family, adding: "It's clear she was a bright and loving young lady who had her whole life ahead of her, and clearly her family meant everything to her."