Oxfordshire: Mother and three children die after car swerves into ‘fully loaded truck’ across the road | UK News

A mother and her three children died when their car swerved into the path of a “fully loaded” truck across the road, according to an investigation.

Zoe Powell, 29, along with her daughters Amelia, four, and Phoebe, eight, and her son Simeon, six, were killed in the crash on the A40 near Oxford at around 9:50 p.m. on October 12, 2020.

Ms Powell’s husband Josh and their youngest child Penny, 18 months, were also passengers in the family’s Subaru minivan – but survived the crash.

The accident was likely caused by “fatigue and distraction,” Senior Coroner Darren Salter told Oxford Coroner’s Court.

The couple were returning home to Chinnor, Oxfordshire, after picking up their children, who had stayed with Mr Powell’s parents in Worcestershire.

Ms Powell drove the vehicle, equipped with a specialized car seat system that allowed the four children to sit side by side in the back seat.

The coroner said he couldn’t rule out the possibility that the accident was a “willful act” – but added he didn’t consider it likely.

There was “no evidence” that Ms Powell had thought of herself or her children, he told the court.

“It’s more likely due to fatigue or distraction, or a combination of the two, and the steering input was driver error,” Mr. Salter said.

“The cruise control was engaged and at the last moment the accelerator was pressed in place of the brake, which is a phenomenon sometimes observed in these circumstances.”

The coroner concluded that a traffic accident was the cause of death for Ms Powell and her three children.

Their deaths occurred when their car “crashed on the wrong side of the road and collided with an oncoming truck.”

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