News: Tribunal judge drowned after satnav error
A tribunal judge was drowned alongside his dog when his wife drove into a ford swollen by heavy rains., an inquest has heard.
Judge Jonathan Gammon, 52, was travelling with his wife Priscilla Turner 55, and their dog to Thornfield Park Hospital in April this year, when shedrove into the ford across the river Enborne, at Headley in Hampshire. She was following the directions of their satnav system.
Mrs Turner told the court: “I remember driving into the water but the water looked deceptive to me, it just looked quite shallow. The next thing I recall was water coming into the car. I do not recall whether the car was stationary or was moving. I do recall Jonathan trying his window and it wouldn’t open, he tried the door and it wouldn’t open. I recall him calling the emergency services and he was getting quite frightened.”
She added: “The next thing I recall is standing on the bank and looking down on the submerged car.”
Mrs Turner said she had no recollection of escaping the car, and had until recently believed that she was rescued.
She told a passer-by, who was walking her dog: “Oh my god, my husband, my dog, what happened? Please tell me it’s a dream.”
Andrew Bradley, the North Hampshire Coroner, recorded a verdict of accidental death, telling Mrs Turner: “What you drove into was quite extraordinary….it’s an appalling set of circumstances…”
Photo of the River Enborne by David Buttery
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1 Comment
JamesB on October 24, 2012 at 2:55 pm
Blimey.