A coroner wants better pedestrian safety near busy service stations after the death of a schoolgirl.

Oxfordshire Coroner Nicholas Gardiner made the appeal to planners after hearing how 14-year-old Chloe Owens was killed as she crossed the busy A4129 Thame bypass in October.

She and two friends had been going to the Burger King restaurant on the bypass at 7.15pm on Saturday, October 1, when she was hit by a Saab 95.

Chloe, of Marriotts Lane, Haddenham, near Thame, was airlifted to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, but pronounced dead early the following morning.

Chloe's two friends, Samantha Howard and Amy Duckham, did not give evidence at yesterday's inquest in Oxford, but accident investigator Pc Alison Brown interviewed them.

Pc Brown told Oxford Coroner's Court: "The road has a dropped kerb with a footpath leading into it.

"As the girls stepped out into the road, Chloe was slightly ahead of the other two girls. They caught up with her at the traffic island in the centre of the road, but then Chloe ran ahead.

"They saw the car and shouted for Chloe to stop, but she did not hear because there was so much traffic noise."

The car driver, Jon Maartensz, of Hawthorn Cottage, Bledlow, near Chinnor, said: "There was a flash in my peripheral vision and then there was a thud on my windscreen.

"At first I did not know what it was it could have been a brick. I stopped as soon as I could and got out of the car, and saw Chloe lying on the ground."

Consultant pathologist Dr Ian Roberts said Chloe died of severe head injuries.

A street light at the scene of the accident was not working at the time, but Oxfordshire County Council environment and economy officer Geoff Barrell said this was not a cause of the collision.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Mr Gardiner said he believed planners should look at the potential for accidents where local people used busy service stations.

He said: "Whenever planning applications are put forward, when things are likely to be used by local people in addition to motorists for which they are designed, we should do everything we can to ensure the safety of pedestrians."

Although Chloe's parents did not attend the inquest, Mr Gardiner read out a statement from her mother, Sue.

In it, she paid tribute to her daughter, but added: "I have found out from speaking to friends of my daughter since the accident that Chloe was not a person with good road sense."

After the inquest, Mr Maartensz told the Oxford Mail: "I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere condolences to Chloe's family and friends, and to acknowledge their feelings following this tragic accident."