motorway after getting out of a car on
the way to the airport after a fight with
his wife over their credit card.
Daily Mail reports
Nahinmu Nicholas had stormed
out of the Ford Focus with his
suitcases, saying he was going to
hitch-hike to Heathrow, but was
knocked down by a lorry in the
morning darkness.
His wife had pulled over on what
they both thought was the hard
shoulder of the M25, not realising
that it was a live lane because of
roadworks. A coroner was told
that lorry driver Martin Hook was
unable to avoid Mr Nicholas as he
suddenly caught sight of him.
His 13-tonne bread lorry also struck the
couple’s car in the accident just six
minutes after they had stopped on the
clockwise carriageway of the M25 at
junction 6 for Godstone, Surrey, at
around 4.30am on April 10.
Florence Olokun-Ola told the inquest in
Woking, Surrey, that her husband was
going to Nigeria alone for 12 days and
that the fight started because she
wanted their bank card while he was
away. ‘The argument became very
aggressive and his voice changed,’ she
added.
Mrs Olokun-Ola, who had earlier told
how financial problems had caused
tension in their relationship, said she no
longer felt comfortable driving and
pulled over to what she thought was
the hard shoulder.
She added: ‘He took off his seat belt.
As soon as the car stopped he took the
keys and opened the boot and took out
his luggage. He put it by the crash
barrier.’
In an attempt to get her husband back
in the car Mrs Olokun-Ola drove
forward a bit, but he started to walk
back down the carriageway trying to
thumb a lift.
Then she felt the force of the collision
as the lorry struck the rear of her car.
‘I got out the car and at first I was
angry because he didn’t come running
over to see if I was okay,’ she said. She
then discovered her husband’s body
and ran back to the car to dial 999.
Mr Hook said he was travelling through
the roadworks at 50mph. ‘The next
thing I knew was there was a dark
shadow in front of me,’ he added. ‘I
turned straight away to the centre of
the carriageway.’
A post-mortem examination concluded
that Mr Nicholas died as a result of
severe head injuries.
Accident reconstruction officer PC
Dominic Gibson said that the stretch of
the M25 where the accident happened
was unlit. He said there were signs
warning that the hard shoulder was now
a live lane.
Assistant Surrey Coroner Michael
Burgess recorded a verdict that Mr
Nicholas, of Dartford, Kent, died as a
result of a road traffic collision.
