Neighbours of a “lovely” 88-year-old woman who was tragically killed yards from her home after returning from her weekly shop have described their upset and shock at the death.
Elderly Hatters Lane resident Ethel Johnson died in hospital last week, days after the car she was travelling in careered off the road and ploughed into four vehicles leaving “total devastation” in its wake.
Tributes have now poured in for the pensioner, with friends revealing they stepped in to help the emergency services as they looked after the shaken Ethel and the injured driver – understood to be one of her relatives.
READ MORE HERE: Elderly woman killed in car crash yards from her home is named
Paramedics rushed Ethel to John Radcliffe Hospital after treating her at the roadside, but she sadly passed away in hospital days later.
Neighbour Jan Goddard said: “Rest in peace to a very lovely lady. She was always very kind, very friendly, I couldn’t say a bad word about her. She was a lovely, lovely woman.
“She kept herself to herself, but would always say hello and ask how you were. It is such a sad loss.”
Jan’s husband, Mick, helped supervise traffic on the busy main road after the grey Hyundai Tucson crashed near Tesco Express, just past the Hicks Farm Rise roundabout.
He said: “We were sitting inside when we heard a huge bang – we thought the ceiling was caving in.
“When I walked out I saw all of the traffic. Someone had given Ethel a chair and she was sitting by the side of the road.
“Police didn’t want cars coming up the road, so I started directing people a different way.”
Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said one of Ethel’s relatives would regularly pick her up on a Thursday and take her to the shops before returning her home.
He said that the car had just gone past the Hicks Farm Rise roundabout on her way back when it crashed into the layby.
The car crashed just yards away from Ethel's home.
Her tragic death came just one week before another crash took the life of fellow High Wycombe resident Janice Swain – who was killed after a pile-up on the Marlow Bypass.
Almost two weeks after the Hatters Lane crash, fellow Holywell Gardens’ residents are just starting to come to terms with the shock loss.
Next door neighbour Mick Everitt said: “She very seldom came out, but she seemed very nice and friendly. I found out she died on Monday. It’s such sad news and a big loss.”
Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, added: “I was in the kitchen and my granddaughter came rushing in and said did you hear that big bang. I came running out and it was such a mess.
“They had ploughed into the parked cars and forced one through the bollards and up the hill.”
He added: “It is very sad. She was just a friendly and lovely lady.”
Did you know Ethel? Leave your tributes by commenting below, email andrew.colley@london.newsquest.co.uk or call 01494 755089.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here