An elderly woman may have been rushing to see her grandson when she was knocked down and killed by an ambulance on an emergency call, an inquest heard.

Jessie Phillips, 74, of Ashgrove, Headington, Oxford, died after she was struck by an ambulance as she tried to cross London Road, in Headington, on January 12.

Mrs Phillips' grandson, Andrew Careford, was one of scores of shoppers to witness the accident. Ambulance driver Donald Cockram told the inquest how he and paramedic Patricia Bignell were on their way to an emergency call in Cowley when the accident happened.

He said he was travelling at about 40-45mph, with his sirens and flashing lights on, when he drove towards the main shopping area. Mr Cockram, a senior technician for Oxfordshire Ambulance Service, told the inquest: "Everyone had stopped and there were no moving vehicles. "Nothing seemed to be amiss, then I saw out of the corner of my eye someone walking very quickly across the road - and then she began to run.

"I thought she would turn around and look at me and stop, but she just kept running. I braked as quickly as I could but we collided." Mr Cockram broke down in tears after giving evidence.

Shopper William Hudson said in a statement: "I saw an elderly woman standing on a narrow piece of pavement between the subway railings on the road. "The lady just started to run across the road quickly, almost as if she was oblivious to the presence of the ambulance."

Mr Careford, who lived at the same address as his grandmother, said in a statement, that he heard a bang and saw the ambulance.

"I walked over and saw my grandmother lying in the road," he said.

Mrs Phillips suffered multiple injuries and died soon after arriving at the John Radcliffe Hospital. She was found to be in otherwise good health for her age. Recording a verdict of accidental death, the Oxfordshire coroner Nicholas Gardiner said Mrs Phillips could have been crossing the road to see her grandson.

He said: "It is clear that Mrs Phillips elected to cross the London Road in the face of an ambulance coming from her left. It seems most unlikely that she had not seen it.

"It is possible that unknown to him (Mr Careford), she could have seen him and decided to cross the road."

Story date: Thursday 06 May

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