A MOTHER-of-one who died after ‘entering’ the M40 and being struck by a HGV has been described as a ‘loving, thoughtful, kind and creative’ person.

Leonora Skipp, 49, died on the M40 southbound between junctions seven and six, near Lewknor, in the early hours of January 21 this year.

The artist and mother-of-one, from London, had parked on the hard shoulder before ‘entering’ the motorway and being struck by a lorry at about 4.10am.

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A post-mortem examination ruled that death would have ‘occurred instantly’.

At an inquest held at Oxford Coroner’s Court on Tuesday (June 11), coroner Darren Salter provided a ‘narrative conclusion’ for her death, stating there was not enough evidence to suggest it was suicide.

During the inquest, Leonora’s husband Nicholas described her as a ‘very loving person’ who had ‘been creative her whole life’.

However, he said she had recently been struggling with symptoms of ‘disorientation, brain fog, and insomnia.

“Her loss has been unbearingly hard for us,” he told the inquest. “The last couple of years had been difficult for her.

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“There had been some issues of disorientation. Leonora sometimes took a night time drive to help her insomnia.

“We may never fully know what happened that morning. She may have become disorientated and distressed which led to this tragic incident.”

He stated that the couple used to live in Watlington and their son had been born at the John Radcliffe Hospital so believes she may have been driving towards Headington as it was ‘familiar’ to her.

The HGV driver, who was heading to London Heathrow prior to the incident, describes seeing a vehicle stationary on the hard shoulder before noting a ‘shadow’ ahead of his lorry.

He felt something hit his vehicle so he pulled over onto the hard shoulder and used a torch to try and notify other vehicles that there was ‘an object’ in the carriageway.

A traffic collision expert told the inquest that the ‘darkness and rain’ would have ‘hampered visibility’ for drivers and the possibility of them seeing a pedestrian was ‘highly unlikely’.

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The inquest heard there were no messages or notes left by Leonora to suggest she had intended to take her own life.

Mr Salter was satisfied Leonora had ‘put herself in the path of the vehicle’ which had resulted in her death but stated there was not evidence to suggest she had intended for the act to take her life.

Concluding the inquest, Mr Salter said: “Given the possibility [Leonora] was disorientated or suffering a panic attack, it’s not clear on the available evidence if she had an intention to take her own life.”

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