A SCHOOLGIRL was killed while waiting for her morning bus after a car “shot through red lights like a rocket”, an inquest has heard.
Katelyn Dawson, 15, was on her way to school when a BMW ploughed into her usual bus stop after veering off the road.
She was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary but was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
A woman, 47, and another teen, 17, were also seriously injured.
Bradford Coroner’s Court heard the driver was never prosecuted.
It is believed he suffered a medical incident at the time of the fatal smash on Wakefield Road in Huddersfield.
The Crown Prosecution Service previously ruled that the BMW driver, aged 51 at the time, had likely fainted as a result of a respiratory tract infection.
BMW ‘SHOT OFF’
The inquest heard emotional witness testimonies from two other drivers at the scene.
One was travelling behind the BMW and stopped at a set of traffic lights which were on red.
She told the court she saw the car “shoot straight through the lights like a rocket” before hitting the bus stop just after 8.30am.
The witness said the vehicle looked as though it sped up and she did not see the driver braking or steering.
Meanwhile, a motorist who was ahead of the BMW at the traffic lights said she heard the car “revving” before it “shot off”.
She told the court she saw the black car swerving between lanes and thought the driver could be attempting to dodge other cars.
The inquest heard the BMW driver was sat stationary behind her car at the lights moments before the collision.
The same witness said he appeared “normal” as he got out the car after the smash.
Heart-wrenching CCTV footage from the horrific crash on January 10, 2018, was also played, at which point Katelyn’s heartbroken parents left the room.
The harrowing video showed how the vehicle had driven straight on, missing the curve of the road.
It then ploughed into the bus stop causing the roof to collapse.
‘DEVASTATION’
Katelyn’s parents spoke of their daughter, a beloved pupil at Shelley College in Huddersfield, as a typical teen preparing for her GCSEs.
Dad Colin told the court: “You can never try to put it into words what it has done mentally and physically.”
He told how the family “will never get over it”, and of the “devastation” left behind.
The year 11 pupil was described by friends as “amazing, kind, funny and beautiful” in emotional tributes at the time of the tragedy.
The driver of the car which hit the bus stop is due to give evidence at the inquest at a later date.
Several medical experts are also due to attend.
The inquest is expected to conclude next week.
