MYSTERY surrounds why a mum-of-three who died in a car crash had pulled over on a busy Hampshire road.

Nicola Price died after a two-car collision on the A31 on January 8 last year.

A Mitsubishi Mirage was travelling west near Cadnam when it was in collision with Ms Price’s Toyota MR2 that had stopped in the nearside lane at around 3.20pm, Winchester Coroner’s Court heard.

The 39-year-old was airlifted to Southampton General Hospital but later died from her injuries.

Ms Price, of Branksome Close Stockbridge, was the mum of Shannon, 20, Tyler, 19, and Logan, nine.

The court heard how Ms Price brought her car to a stop and put her hazard lights on, despite having recently passed a lay-by.

Witness Carl Haslam said: “I could not see any obvious reason as to why this car was slowing down.

“I thought to myself at the time that could they not have travelled a little further down the road to stop. You would not choose to stop there unless something nasty had happened.”

Witness Keryn McNicol said: “I drove past and thought, ‘It is an accident waiting to happen.’”

“I could not believe what I was seeing. I stopped my car and dialled 999. I was in shock.”

Susan McGregor, who was driving the Mitsubishi, said: “While I was at the hospital all I kept thinking about was the other driver.

"I just remember the sun blinding me and that the car in front of me was not moving.

“It all just happened so quickly. I cannot stop thinking about the poor lady and her family.”

Coroner Grahame Short said it was possible there was an unidentified mechanical failure with her car which caused her to stop, or that she felt ill. He recorded a death by road traffic collision.

PC Kerr of Hampshire police said there was no evidence of pre-collision mechanical defects to Ms Price’s car, but she was wearing her seatbelt and had not been using her phone.

Senior coroner Grahame Short said it was possible there was an unidentified mechanical failure with Ms Price’s car which caused her to stop on the dual carriageway, or that she felt ill.

He cited brain swelling as the primary cause of death, brought on by the impact of the collision, and recorded a death by road traffic collision.

Pathologist Dr Vipul Foria said it was possible that there may have been an unidentified problem with electrical conduction through Ms Price’s heart, which caused her to have a medical episode prior to the collision and stop the car.

He added that it was difficult to be certain if the collision caused the abnormal heart rhythm or it was a pre-existing condition.

Forensic pathologist Dr Amanda Jeffery added that Ms Price had little in the way of external injuries and that she had no pre-existing diseases.