A MOTORIST who saw a woman go under a lorry in Petersfield was told without a postcode an ambulance couldn’t be sent.
The revelation at the inquest into the death of Yogalakshmi Sinnaiah left him “stunned,” said East Hampshire coroner David Horsley.
The home help from Sri Lanka was run over at the Dragon Street pedestrian crossing on Tuesday, January 26, in wet and windy weather.
Motorist Terrance Barnfield said: “She was cutting the corner to get across but got very close to the front of the lorry.
“I rung 999 and said there was a fatal accident in Petersfield but the operator asked for a postcode and said she couldn’t send anything unless she had one.”
But police sergeant Adrienne Jerram told the inquest last Thursday (July 7) in Portsmouth civic offices that postcodes were not a necessity.
The lorry was going to a building site on The Causeway, and Mr Barnfield was adamant the driver couldn’t have seen Ms Sinnaiah.
Forensics expert Antony Johnson also said the driver would not have been able to see her.
Lorry driver Kevin Grant said: “Afterwards I thought a lot about where she came from, but I’ve got no idea.
“I wasn’t sure what happened but the look on people’s faces told me something wasn’t right.”
Ms Sinnaiah (58) had moved from Longmead Road in Liss to Heath Road, Petersfield, shortly before she died.
Mr Horsley heard as she approached the crossing just yards from Heath Road, she was struggling with her umbrella in the wind.
And there were tears as witnesses relived the moment she was hit by the lorry.
Naomi Sheed, from Buriton, said Ms Sinnaiah “appeared to be in a hurry” as she approached the road from the wrong side of the crossing beacon.
Clothes shop Duet overlooks the crossing and owner Rhona McTavish and colleague Nicola Crew witnessed the whole incident.
They suggested that barriers either side of the crossing would have prevented it.
Mr Horsley recorded a verdict of accidental death, saying it was an “absolute tragedy.”
He added: “I think the most likely scenario is that Yogalakshmi has either been distracted trying to put up her umbrella or was blown into the road, which is probably less likely.”