Mother and daughter killed in van collision (From Bucks Free Press)

Mother and daughter from Isleworth killed in van collision in Chalfont St Peter

1:43pm Tuesday 16th October 2012 in News By Laura Dew

A MOTHER and daughter were killed after their car pulled out in front of a van, an inquest heard.

Chanchal Chadha, 73, and her daughter Aneetha, 53, from Thornbury Rd, Isleworth, were leaving family member Ritu Dhawan-Foster’s house on the A413 at about 8pm on Sunday March 11.

Aneetha pulled out of the driveway in her Mercedes C200 only to be hit on the driver’s side door by van driver Tim Curteis-Waite, who was driving home to Prestwood.

The inquest at Wycombe Law Courts heard the van pushed the car back into a tree and both women were killed at the scene.

Mr Curteis-Waite told the inquest he was travelling at about 50mph in very quiet traffic and swerved to the right to avoid the vehicle, only to hit the driver’s side as the car turned right out of the driveway.

He said: “I saw the car on the driveway waiting to pull out. I just thought, ‘they are not going to pull out’.

“There was nothing I could do in that split second. The car kept going and I tried to go round it.”

Mrs Dhawan-Foster - Chanchal's daughter and Aneetha's sister - said she always waited for her family to leave as she was aware the road was dangerous and it was described as having an "intimidating layout".

The inquest heard if Mr Curteis-Waite had not steered right then he could have avoided the deaths by hitting the back of the car instead.

However, Thames Valley Police collision investigator Steve Moffat said: "It would have been suspicious if he had not turned right - 99.9% of people will always swerve to the right and hope they will get round the front of the vehicle."

Mr Moffat said the van had a defect with its anti-lock braking system but added "that did not mean the accident was inevitable", as ABS brakes function best in wet conditions while the accident happened on a dry day.

He admitted there were "lots of unknowns" in the case as the van only left one tyre mark which heavily reduced the ability to determine factors of the crash.

Coroner Richard Hulett recorded a verdict of accidental death.