A young mother died after her car crashed at full speed into a slow-moving HGV - but her five-week-old baby escaped completely unharmed, an inquest heard today.

Emergency teams and witnesses were baffled as to why Joanna Bull ploughed into the slow-moving lorry, leaving her with fatal injuries.

Her baby, Ruby, was rescued from the green Peugeot 406 estate car and looked after by witnesses until emergency crews arrived.

Paramedics rushed to the scene on the southbound carriageway of the M40 near junction 9 for Bicester, but were unable to save the infant's mother, who was declared dead at the scene.

Witnesses told the inquest ar Oxfordshire Coroner's Court that Mrs Bull, who had married her husband David only a year earlier, appeared to make no attempt to stop or avoid the red articulated lorry.

A police investigation concluded she may have fallen asleep at the wheel, suffered a medical episode, been distracted or lost concentration.

The 29-year-old new mum was en-route from her home in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, to visit her mother, Teresa, with her first born when the accident happened at around 11am on Friday, June 13.

Home Office pathologist, Dr Nicholas Hunt, said one person claimed to have seen Mrs Bull slumped at the wheel at the time of the crash but no other witnesses were able to confirm this.

Dr Hunt said there was no evidence that Mrs Bull had suffered complications arising from her recent pregnancy and said she was alive at the time of the crash.

Oxfordshire Assistant Coroner Nicholas Graham, who recorded a verdict of accidental death, described the death as a "tragedy."

Mr Graham said: "There was no direct medical evidence to suggest that Joanna had blacked out, although it seems to me that is a possibility.

"There is no evidence that somehow this was an intentional act on her part or due to dangerous driving by other road users.

"The difficult issue is whether she somehow lost consciousness prior to impact.

"It seems to me almost impossible to speculate. It could have been any number of those factors that played a role."

The medical cause of death was multiple blunt injuries.

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