Dr Kaja Lerum Sammartino (left), pictured with husband Pablo Sammartino, died after she 'lay down' in front of a lorry on the M4 in October. She had been in a minor road accident just minutes before
The horrific moment that a medical director lay down in the middle of a busy motorway as an HGV bore down on her was today described to an inquest.
Dr Kaja Lerum Sammartino was struck by at least one lorry after she suddenly appeared in the slow lane of the M4 in the early morning of October 26.
The 38-year-old mother-of-two from Newbury, Berkshire, who was the star of the pharmaceutical company where she worked, was killed almost instantly after she lay down on the carriageway.
Minutes before she had crashed into a safety barrier in her car but was not believed to have been seriously injured.
HGV driver Richard Hanton told the coroner: 'I was driving normally and nothing was out of the ordinary.
'Then I saw a woman lie down in front of me after coming from the hard shoulder and lying down in the slow lane.'
Mr Hanton violently swerved his 44 tonne HGV to avoid hitting the woman before stopping some 200 metres up the hard shoulder.
The experienced driver then walked back down the carriageway and spotted an empty Mazda parked off the carriageway and peered inside.
He then spotted the body of Dr Lerum Sammartino in the motorway which was then struck by a heavy goods vehicle.
Other drivers described what they thought was a deer in the slow lane of the eastbound M4 between Newbury and Reading.
The inquest into Dr Lerum Sammartino's death, which took place on what would have been her 39th birthday, heard that she was on her way to work at the pharmaceutical company in Reading when, for an unknown reason, she careered off the carriageway and struck the safety barrier on the hard shoulder.
Dr Lerum Sammartino had a history of depression, but her husband Pablo Sammartino insists she would not have killed herself as she was devoted to her children
Accident investigators could find nothing mechanically wrong with the car but the impact damaged its entire length and the nearside airbags had been deployed.
Location: Drivers described what they thought was a deer in the slow lane of the eastbound M4 between Newbury and Reading
Following the collision the doctor, who was born in Norway, turned off the engine, put on the hazard warning lights, left the car from the passenger door and contacted the emergency services.
However she declined the assistance of an ambulance, fire and police.
Forensic collision investigator Tony Reading described the collision as 'not significant' and as a 'glancing blow'. He said it was unlikely to cause 'significant injury'.
The hearing in Newbury was told how accident investigators could not rule out that Dr Lerum Sammartino may have hit her head when her car collided with the safety barrier.
'If you have a bleeding to the brain you can function perfectly normally for a period of time and then the pressure can cause a problem,' said Mr Reading.
Due to the disruption of the body a pathologist was unable to discover whether she had suffered a head injury.
A post mortem examination gave the cause of death as multiple injuries.
Berkshire Coroner Peter Bedford asked: 'So, it is not something you can rule out?"'
Mr Reading said: 'Absolutely not.'
Husband Pablo Sammartino said he had known his wife for more than 20 years and although she had suffered from periods of depression in the past and took anti-depressants, he said she would not have committed suicide.
Road: Dr Kaja Lerum Sammartino was struck by at least one lorry after she suddenly appeared in the slow lane of the M4 in the early morning of October 26
'She was extremely dedicated to her family. She would basically do anything for her children.
'I am in no doubt.'
Coroner Peter Bedford said: 'What we will never fully understand is why on that particular morning she struck the armco (a type of barrier) and we will never know how it affected her, both emotionally and physically.
'She was extremely dedicated to her family. She would basically do anything for her children.
- Husband Pablo Sammartino
'The potential for physical injury cannot be ignored.'
He recorded an open verdict into the death of the doctor.
Speaking after the hearing Mr Sammartino said: 'Six months after Kaja's departure we still miss her like the first day, perhaps a touch more today, it being her birthday.
'Her generous, humble, caring persona is our daily beacon of strength, we trust in God and the confidence that her angel looks after us, especially my children, every single day.
'Thankfully, out of the tragedy some good often emerges and I would like to thank the people and institutions that are helping our family in this extremely challenging time.'
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