A 94-YEAR-old woman died after she was a passenger in a car which crashed in Sutton St Nicholas.

Joan Davies, who lived in Marden, was rushed to hospital on September 7 last year but died the following day.

The inquest at Herefordshire Coroner's Court heard her son, Ivor Davies, was her carer and was taking her shopping in Hereford when he had a blackout at the wheel.

He was driving on Ridgeway Road from Marden towards Sutton St Nicholas at around 10.30am when he lost consciousness on a shallow right-hand bend and travelled along the verge before hitting a stone wall.

Mrs Davies suffered from multiple bruises and lacerations. She was wearing a seatbelt but had slipped down into the footwell.

Police accident investigator, Stephen King, said there was no evidence of excessive speed. He said there was around 25 metres between leaving the carriageway and hitting the wall and there was no obvious signs of braking.

Mr Davies sustained injuries to his face from the airbag which released, but there was no airbag on the passenger's side. An alcohol breath test at the scene was zero.

Mr Davies said he was on the other side of the road when he came round.

He said he has since found out that the blackout was caused by arrhythmia, a heart rhythm problem. He said he had suffered from five blackouts between 2011 and 2016, and had sought medical attention but he believed he was safe to drive.

He said he handed his driving licence in after the accident and said he has found it difficult to book a doctor's appointment to get medication to possibly help the condition.

Mr Davies said: "Not a day, hour, minute or second goes by where I don't think about this. I blame myself for what happened and I am responsible."

Coroner Mark Bricknell said:"The difficulty you had, you had an extremely frail mother who was 94. If I had been in a car with you I probably would have been ok,wouldn't I?

"It was the fact that she was an old lady that a relatively minor collision became so serious.

"I hear what you say and I accept that but you have also had a lot of bad luck."

Mr Bricknell recorded Mrs Davies died as a result of a road traffic collision. She died from major thoracic trauma.