A woman who died in a crash on the A11 had been on her way to collect her husband, who had also been in an accident.

Norfolk Coroner's Court heard this afternoon how 80-year-old Hazel Hawes, from Cringleford, had been called to pick up her husband of 59 years Timothy, after he had been involved in a minor prang on October 20 last year.

On her way, at around 6pm, retired private tutor Mrs Hawes, of Keswick Road, had used an opening in the dual carriageway on the A11 at Bridgham to try and turn off. But her red Peugeot 107 was hit by a BMW X5 driven by Doru Ghergu which was travelling towards Thetford.

In evidence read by Area Coroner Yvonne Blake, Mr Hawes, 83, said he had gone out to Thetford Forest for a walk, but on the way was involved in a collision and called his wife to collect him.

'She didn't arrive so I called her but with no reply,' he said. 'All I know is what the police have told me, but I'm certain she was trying to find me when it happened. We were not a relationship, we were a union. It has been a devastating loss to me and my family.'

Ms Blake also read evidence from Mr Ghergu, a construction supervisor who moved to the UK from Romania in 2012.

'I was driving in lane two at about 60-70mph,' he said. 'The next thing I remember is smashing into the side of something in lane two, I could not see what it was bit assumed it was a vehicle.'

Mr Ghergu said after making sure his passengers were okay he rushed to Mrs Hawes' car, which he had not seen before the crash, and told others who had stopped to call the emergency services. But when paramedics arrived Mrs Hawes was pronounced dead at the scene.

The medical cause of death was given as traumatic head and spinal injuries as the result of a road traffic collision.

Ms Blake also read a report by Norfolk Police's PC Graham Brooks, who said the precise details of how Mrs Hawes tried to cross the road would never be known. But he said it would have been possible Mr Ghergu did not see her car before the crash.

He added: 'Although [Mr Ghergu] drove the BMW it was owned by his wife, there was no valid insurance in place that allowed him to drive it'.

Giving her conclusion Ms Blake said Mrs Hawes 'died as a result of multiple injuries due to a road traffic collision.'