Tiegan Bryce Spencer, Redruth inquest verdict

Tiegan Bryce Spencer, 19, of Montague Avenue, Redruth had just left a nail bar in Fore Street, Hayle on the afternoon of November 17, 2021 when she stepped into the side of a Land Rover Discovery driven by Steven Mark Robins.

An inquest in Truro was told that Tiegan was thrown into the air by the force of the impact and suffered severe head injuries after her head hit the road surface.

She was taken to Derriford Hospital, Plymouth where she was declared dead the next day.

Her mother Debra Southern said that her daughter was a talented artist who had had some success as a model.

She said the evening before her death, Tiegan's longtime boyfriend had told her the relationship was over and her daughter was "heartbroken".

She said her daughter was "funny, sarcastic, artistic, hard working and her best friend.

"She was a model and she was doing very well," she said. "Her artwork was absolutely amazing. She had gone to college and was thinking about university."

Tiegan died after stepping into the road at Fore Street to catch her bus

The owner of the nail bar on Fore Street, Danielle Sewell said Tiegan was one of her best customers and had been coming since it opened. They had become close friends.

She said she was a "really sweet girl." She said Tiegan was running half an hour late for a 1.35pm appointment that day and when she arrived the appointment lasted two hours. They talked about lots of things including the break up with her boyfriend. She said Tiegan was "bleary eyed" when she arrived and wasn't in a good place.

Danielle's partner bought Tiegan a Caramac Cooler from Costa which she drank while she waited for her bus sitting in the salon's bay window, something she often did unless they gave her a lift.

"She [Tiegan] said 'My bus is here' and energetically jumped up," said Danielle. "She blew me a kiss and said 'Catch you next time', and set off walking purposefully out of the salon."

Danielle said Tiegan always appeared in a rush and on "numerous occasions" had crossed between parked cars to get to the bus on the other side of the road.

She said the next thing she knew her son said there had been a collision and she looked to see Tiegan lying in the road.

She said she ran straight out of the shop and saw Tiegan lying on her right side. She had an obvious head injury and was not responsive.

"I was reassuring her she was not alone," said Danielle who was by now cradling her.

The emergency services were called but Tiegan died in hospital the next day.

A number of eyewitnesses described seeing Tiegan come out from behind the van without looking and hitting the Land Rover, with a glancing blow on its side.

The inquest heard that in order for Tiegan to see any vehicles , or any vehicles to see her, she would have to put her whole body into the road.

The driver of the Land Rover, Steven Robins, who was in the car with his wife, said the first he knew that something had happened was when a full drink landed on the windscreen.

They stopped and he said to his wife "What was that?" He got out of the vehicle, went round the back and saw Tiegan lying in the road.

"I just collapsed on the floor," said Mr Robins. He said he had held a licence for 43 years and was doing between 15 and 20 miles per hour at the time of the accident. He said he didn't see Tiegan prior to the impact.

"I am truly, truly sorry," he told the inquest.

MPC Justin Hayne said there were no criminal proceedings and no blame was attributed to Mr Robins. Tiegan had struck the side of the Land Rover but there was minimal damage to the vehicle. The fatal injury was probably caused by her head hitting the road surface when she landed.

Concluding that it was an accidental death after she stepped out into the road to catch her bus without looking, senior coroner Andrew Cox said she may have been distracted by the break-up with her boyfriend and her mind was elsewhere.

He told the family and friends he was sorry to meet in these circumstances and "19 years old is far too young."