Death of Dartford teenager Hannah Coan hit by car was an accident, inquest heard

Hannah Coan died after being hit by a silver Mercedes C180 while crossing Heath Street near the junctions with Phoenix Place and North Street at around 6.30pm on September 7 last year.

The 18-year-old succumbed to head injuries five days later at King’s College Hospital, an inquest at Gravesend Town Hall was told on Tuesday (June 11).

The former Wilmington Academy student had been with her friend Nikki Waterman when they decided to go out to Sainsbury’s for some drinks and then on to McDonald’s.

The North Street resident was approached by a boy she knew asking her to buy him some cigarettes causing Miss Coan to turn around and start jogging back down the path towards the Circle C shop.

The teenager looked to her right before beginning to cross the road but did not look to her left, according to coroner Roger Hatch.

Reading from a statement by Miss Waterman, he said: “She got to within a couple of steps from the path on the other side and she became aware of a car coming from her left.

“She glanced that way and then started to run faster and jumped into the path of the car.”

Driver Michael Robinson was on his own travelling west along Heath Street when the incident occurred.

The pensioner put his visor down seconds before he hit Miss Coan as the sun was a “bright red ball” and very low in the sky, the inquest heard.

Tributes to Hannah in Central Park. 

Miss Coan was thrown across Mr Robinson’s windscreen causing him to pull over immediately and leaving him “shocked and devastated”.

He admitted having had a pint of lager that day but a breathalyser test at the scene was negative, the inquest was told.

Mr Robinson had been driving “cautiously” because of the high number of parked cars in the area and did not have time to brake before he hit Miss Coan.

Forensic collision investigator PC David Burley said the driver would have had only a second to respond before hitting Miss Coan at between 26mph and 31mph in Heath Street, which has a 30mph limit.

He said: “Miss Coan would not have presented herself as a hazard until she entered the road.

“Mr Robinson would not have had time to react and could not have avoided the collision.”

Mr Hatch recorded a verdict of accidental death.

After the inquest, Miss Coan’s mum Sharon said the decision had yet to sink in and it had “all been a bit too much to take”.

At the time of Miss Coan’s death, Tracey Trusler, vice principal at Apollo College, Wilmington Academy, paid tribute to “a lovely girl who had many friends at the Academy.”

The scene of the accident