A MUM who died after her car veered into the path of an oncoming lorry may have been distracted by watching Love Island on her phone, an inquest heard.
Charlotte Buesden, 28, was killed after her Nissan Qashqai collided with a HGV on a busy road in Kemsley, Kent.
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The mum had been dropping off her son at school when the fatal accident happened on August 23 last year.
An inquest into Charlotte’s death was told that her car had swerved into oncoming traffic at 7.30am.
DC Bob Fursey explained that the lorry driver had no chance of avoiding a collision and drove into her vehicle.
He said her phone was found on the dashboard, alongside a magnetic phone clip, with an error message displaying on the ITV Hub app.
The phone had disconnected from an episode of Love Island, but there was no evidence of her sending messages or using data before the collision.
DC Fursey added: “It is suggested she may have been distracted by watching Love Island by looking at or reaching for her phone.
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“The reason for the loss of control from Ms Buesden’s car is not explained, but she was distracted from steering, and this most likely came from being distracted by her phone.”
A witness who was two cars behind Charlotte when the collision happened, told the inquest that they saw the car go straight into a bend.
They described watching the car “veer into the wrong lane” before the crash as she rounded the corner.
PC Duncan Swallow, forensic collision officer, told the court that dashcam footage from the HGV lorry was poor.
However he explained that it appeared to show Charlotte looking in the direction of her phone, and was extending her arm towards where it was mounted.
He went on to say there were no weather conditions that would’ve played a part in the accident and it appeared she may have been distracted by her phone.
Charlotte died because of a severe fracture to her skull, with coroner Bina Patel ruling that her death was due to a road traffic collision.
‘BEAUTIFUL’
Following the tragedy more than 40 bunches of flowers, messages, and even a small bottle of Prosecco were left in her memory.
One friend, Fran, wrote: “You are too young, too beautiful and too kind to be gone. You are part of all my fun times. I have so many amazing memories of you I will treasure forever.
“You were an amazing mummy. I so wish we had more time together, more laughs, jokes, and love but it’s been so cruelly taken away.
“I will never forget you and I will love you always.”
A Facebook memorial has also been dedicated to her. It reads: “We hope that people who love Charlotte will find comfort in visiting her profile to remember and celebrate her life.”
