A PENSIONER who was hit by a car while crossing the road in Buckley may have been in the blackspot between the bright headlights of an oncoming vehicle, an inquest heard.

Pamela Johnson, 87, suffered multiple injuries in the collision on Chester Road on October 31 last year and died the following day in the Royal Stoke University Hospital.

Mrs Johnson, a retired hairdresser, of Trellis, Wrexham Road, Penyffordd, had just got off a bus and was walking to her daughter’s house when the tragedy occurred at 5.30pm.

Witnesses described how it was drizzling at the time but the road near the Blue Bell Inn was well-lit by streetlights and shop windows.

At the hearing Ruthin Joanne Lees, assistant coroner for North Wales East and Central, read a statement by Anthony Hollingdrake, who was driving towards Mold.

He said he first saw Mrs Johnson step into the road when he was about 30-40 metres away.

He described how she then appeared to “stutter”, as if deciding whether to carry on, but then continued into the path of an oncoming Vauxhall Astra.

The driver of that car, Benjamin Williams, told police he had no chance of avoiding a collision.

“I just slammed on the brakes and started sliding but could not stop,” he said.

Forensic collision investigator Emma Dainty said tests showed that Mr Williams had been travelling at 20-22mph immediately before the collision and his car had no mechanical defects. He was not using his mobile phone and passed a breath test.

Miss Dainty said CCTV footage showed that Mrs Johnson had been walking at about 1.4 metres a second.

Mr Hollingdrake’s Lexus car, she said, had particularly bright headlights but Mrs Johnson might have been in a dark spot immediately in front of his vehicle, masking her from Mr Williams’ view.

Recording a conclusion of death by a road traffic collision, Mrs Lees said she did not feel it necessary to voice concern about the road, street lighting or crossings.

“There is nothing that leads me to feel I should make a report to prevent future deaths,” she commented.

“It is really just a tragic accident and nobody’s fault, especially Pam’s,” she added.