A WOMAN who was killed in a car crash earlier this year is likely to have suffered a momentary lapse in concentration, an inquest heard.

Lorraine Jennings, 48, from Picton, between Stokesley and Northallerton, was driving a white Toyota on the A684, from the A19 near Ellerbeck towards Northallerton.

Mrs Jennings, who ran a cleaning and carer business in the area, was pronounced dead at the scene after her car left the carriageway and collided with a Ford Mondeo, before both vehicles left the road on Friday, March 1, 2019, at around 10am.

Arwel Carter, the driver of the Ford Mondeo, told the inquest at Northallerton's Evolution Centre on Wednesday, October 30, he came to the brow of Winton Bank to encounter Mrs Jenning's Toyota which was coming towards him sideways on.

He said: "I was making my way from Northallerton to the A19. I went up Winton Bank, and suddenly saw the white car coming sideways towards and in front of me.

"I was going up the bank and there is a bend towards the left, so I couldn't see until it was right in front of me."

The cars collided and both cars ended up in the hedge on a grass verge. Mr Cater suffered chest pains and deep tissue bruising, and has attended therapy following the accident.

He said: "After the crash I came to rest in a hedge and there was smoke in the car so I thought it was on fire, but it was just from the air bag. Other drivers had stopped to help but I told them to go to the woman as she wasn't moving."

Emergency services arrived within minutes, but Mrs Jennings was pronounced dead. Her post mortem revealed she had spinal injuries which were not survivable.

PC Paddy Green, a collision investigator at North Yorkshire Police, was able to create a reconstruction of the accident.

He said: "Lorraine Jennings was travelling towards Northallerton, when she approached Wheatsheaf House on Winton Bank she lost control.

"Dash cam footage from a vehicle four behind her, shows the other cars behind her slow as they approach the bend at the top of the hill, but she appears to maintain speed. She then appears to over compensate with her steering and lose control, causing the back end of the vehicle to rotate around the oncoming Ford.

He added: "No other drivers had noticed any bad driving until immediately before the accident. It seems she may have been distracted or misjudged the bend."

Coroner Rob Turnbull said: "It started as just a normal day, and it is difficult to assess why the accident occurred. She must have over-steered and momentarily lost control." He recorded she died as a result of an accident.