Three-week-old baby killed in horror crash after mum distracted by sat-nav as dad held her in his arms
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A three-week old baby was fatally injured in a crash when her mum was distracted by a falling sat-nav, an inquest heard.
Ruth Kareem-Komolafe died in hospital a day after her parents' Honda Jazz crossed over the white lines and into the path of a lorry at a notorious accident spot.
The baby had been in the back in the arms of her father, Adeniyi, who took her out of her car seat to try to calm her down after she began "hysterically" crying.
The parents were taking Ruth to be registered at a GP's office when the sat-nav fell from the windscreen and mum Lutando became distracted, the Croydon Advertiser reports.
The car failed to negotiate a bend in the road and crashed into the oncoming lorry in Coombe Lane in south London on July 1 last year.
Ruth's mum told the inquest: “[The sat-nav] was stuck on the windscreen with a push-sucker, I just sort of reacted to it. I just remember in that moment I looked down and there was the lorry in front of me.”
The family had just recently moved to New Addington.
Coroner Selena Lynch, who recorded a verdict of death by road traffic collision, concluded that Ruth died from severe head injuries at 2.15am in St George's Hospital as a result of the collision at 12.30pm the previous day.
(Image: Google)
Addressing the parents, Ms Lynch said: “What an absolute tragedy for your family. It was something that happens to people every day. It’s a common occurrence for many who use portable satellite navigation devices, it can be a distraction and it’s so unfortunate how it happened.
“At about 12.30pm, Ruth was in the arms of her father in the rear seat of a car driven by her mother. As the vehicle approached a left hand bend she became distracted by the sat-nav falling from the windscreen and failed to negotiate the bend, crashing into an oncoming vehicle.”
The inquest heard from Metropolitan Police collision investigator PC Jeremy Archer that the car was travelling up the hill around a left hand bend just past the Royal Russell School turn-off at the time of the crash.
PC Archer stated that when he arrived the body of the car was generally intact with the front right wing of the vehicle suffering the brunt of the damage.
He said “the sat-nav was dangling by the driver’s footwell” and added that “the skid marks show the car was by the white line of the other side of the road before impact” while stating that the lorry was doing 33mph just before the crash and “was almost stationary” at the time of impact.
A statement from Mr Kareem-Komolafe was read by senior investigation officer DC Phil O’Connor.
The statement said: “I took Ruth out of the car seat to comfort her as she was crying and coughing. I was wearing a seat belt but took it off to care for Ruth as she was really distressed.
“I didn’t see the sat-nav [fall] as Ruth was distressed and I was focused on her. I was knocked out, the last [time] I saw her she was being carried into the ambulance.
"I just don’t understand what happened, she was in my arms but then I don’t know what happened after the collision.”
The inquest, held in Croydon, heard how when the mother came to, she found Ruth had been thrown into the footwell at the rear of the car, behind the front passenger seat.
Ms Lynch added at the end of the hearing: “You were doing what parents do but taking a child out of their seat makes them so vulnerable. I know you two were both injured, I hope you both made a full recovery.
“I’m so sorry for your loss, I hope in time you both put the distress of that day out of your mind and remember your time with Ruth. I hope you forgive yourselves for what happened.”
The death was the fourth fatality on the stretch of road between Lloyd Park and Gravel Hill in four years.