At the inquest into the death of Pamela Singleton-Clarke, North East Wales coroner John Hughes ruled that the 40-year-old mum-of-three died as a result of an accident on the A55.

On the day of the crash, Sunday October 21, Mrs Singleton-Clarke, who lived with her daughter Rebecca at Cambridge Road, Ellesmere Port, was riding on the back of her partner Anthony John Price's motorcycle.

The inquest heard that the pair had both taken cocaine within the previous day of the accident.

It was also discovered that the rear tyre on the Suzuki motorcycle was well below the legal inflation limit which could have been a contributing factor in the accident.

Witnesses gave evidence at the hearing held at Flint Magistrates Court to say they saw the motorcycle in the outside lane of the A55 as it headed towards the Ewloe loop.

Philip James Clay from Caergwrle said that as he joined the sliproad from the Dobshill roundabout to the A55 in the direction of Queensferry he noticed the metallic blue Suzuki motorcycle in the outside lane.

Mr Clay continued driving along the A55 towards the Ewloe loop and saw the motorcycle overtake cars ahead before going out of his sight.

When Mr Clay got to the bend in the road he spotted a man out of his car waving his arm to warn drivers there had been an accident.

He saw Mr Price in the middle of the road and his partner Mrs Singleton-Clarke curled over a crash barrier on the side of the road.

A post-mortem examination of her body concluded that she had been rendered unconscious instantly and died from the blood loss of multiple major injuries.

The other witness Gerald Harris was first on the scene of the accident at about 6.15pm.

Mr Harris spotted Mr Price lying in the middle of the road and immediately put on his hazard warning lights and parked his car in front of him to protect him from oncoming vehicles.

He said: "The motorcyclist was responding slightly aggressively but I ignored it and began to wave my arms to warn traffic."

An off duty paramedic Michael Davies was driving to work at the Queensferry depot when he came across the incident.

Using his expertise he removed the helmet from Mrs Singleton-Clarke, the inquest was told, and noted that she was breathing once every 20 seconds.

In a statement from Mr Davies read aloud to the inquest it said that he noticed she had traumatic injuries and that he decided not to start resuscitation.

When the ambulance arrived Mrs Singleton-Clarke had no pulse and was declared dead at the scene at 6.40pm.

Evidence was read aloud from PC Elizabeth Richardson based at St Asaph Police Station for North Wales Police.

She said that Mr Price was being aggressive and wanted to move his motorcycle from the middle of the road.

Mr Price later pleaded guilty to driving with undue care and attention at court.

A forensic vehicle examiner, Gary Roberts, looked at the Suzuki motorcycle 16 hours after the accident and said that the rear tyre was underinflated to a level of 21 pounds per square inch (PSI) when the legal limit is 36.

He stated that this could have been a "contributory cause of the collision" as it would have a "detrimental effect on handling, inducing over-steering."

The motorcycle was also in sixth gear, the highest gear on the bike.
During police interview the day after the incident Mr Price said that he hadn't been out on his bike for a while because he had been going out at the weekend with his family.

He said: "I didn't remember the collision and I didn't even remember hitting the floor.

"She was on the bike for the first time."

Mr Price also said that he checked the tyre inflation level before he left on his journey.

During an interview on December 17 Mr Price said that on another occasion he had driven around the bend at 80 or 90 mph.

He admitted having taken cocaine the night before along with Mrs Singleton-Clarke but denied that the accident was as a result of it.

The inquest also heard that a 'third party' from Ellesmere Port had suggested that Mr Price had taken a wrong turn on the A55 and that Mrs Singleton-Clarke may have distracted him by telling him so.

Mrs Singleton-Clarke's sister Lesley Haywood from Hawarden gave evidence at the hearing. She said Mrs Singleton-Clarke had a twin brother and three sisters and was born in Rock Ferry, Birkenhead.

She left the family home aged 16 and had a number of relationships, some of which got her involved with drug misuse. She had two daughters and a son.

Miss Haywood said: "In 2000 we had more contact on the phone and she focused on her children.

"She was determined and tried very hard and was clean from drugs from my knowledge.

"Pam's death came as a shock and the effect on her daughter was profound."

Mr Hughes told Mrs Singleton-Clarke's sister: "These were unsurvivable injuries if that helps you come to terms with the terrible loss."

He said: "This is an accident because the unexpected result was the collision.

"There are many factors that interplay.

"We have a man who on his own admission took drugs at a time which was sufficiently proximate to the incident to be relevant.

"There are no eye-witnesses apart from Mr Price and I'm far from convinced by what he's saying.

"It seems to me that we will never know the absolute truth about why that vehicle lost control.

"I can only express my deepest regret."

Mr Hughes recorded a verdict of accidental death.

After the incident in October Mrs Singleton-Clarke's ex-partner paid tribute to a loving mother.

Tommy Clarke said: "She was fiery, she was a character and she was also a loving mother.

"She will be sadly missed by her family, her children and her friends."