AN ANGRY widow stormed out of the inquest into the deaths of two male passengers in an A14 crash – two others also died indirectly as a result of the accident.

By Amanda Cresswell

AN ANGRY widow stormed out of the inquest into the deaths of two male passengers in an A14 crash – two others also died indirectly as a result of the accident.

Driver and former self-confessed heroin addict Elizabeth McKee, told the Bury St Edmunds inquest: "I am sorry to those who lost their husbands and their brothers."

Seconds later the widow of deceased Martin Watson, left the courtroom in disgust, spitting on McKee before leaving and prompting coroner Dr Peter Dean to call for a short adjournment.

After the inquest, widow Melissa Watson, of Bury St Edmunds, said: "It has taken her two years to apologise. She has left my children without a father."

Asked whether the inquest could help draw a line under the tragic events, she said: "It is never going to be over. The children don't have a father. That is never going to change."

Dr Dean recorded a verdict of accidental death at the inquest which claimed the lives of Shaun Fuller, from Thetford, and Watson, also 29 from Bury St Edmunds. Both men died instantly.

The inquest also heard that lorry driver Robin Rose, who was parked in a layby at the time, killed himself after witnessing the carnage.

The Evening Star has also revealed hours after hearing of her son's death Carol Fuller, 50, collapsed then later died of a heart attack.

McKee, 33, who was seriously injured in the accident told the court she had been called a murderer and blamed for four deaths since the October 2000 crash.

The crash happened on the A14 close to the Moreton Hall roundabout on October 13, 2000, when McKee's jeep spun into the central reservation after clipping a Leyland Daf lorry.

A post office van travelling in the same direction then became involved in the pile up.

The inquest revealed PC David Murray had seen McKee at a "noisy party" to which police were called in Bury St Edmunds that night. He could smell liquor on her breath and she was "unsteady on her feet" and came to the conclusion she was drunk.

Sergeant Colin Teager, leading the investigation, got permission from an Ipswich Crown Court judge for a blood sample to be taken while McKee was in hospital, required by law at the time.

When tested the blood was found to be two and a half times over the legal alcohol limit for driving, 168 mls in 100 ml of blood, when the legal limit is 80 mls. The sample was never produced in evidence at the criminal hearing because of a legal technicality.

Giving evidence McKee, of Rougham, near Bury St Edmunds, whose memory was impaired after the accident, couldn't recall the events that night. She had no recollection of drinking. She admitted to having been a drug addict, which she claims may have affected her speech.

Dr Dean reminded the court McKee was also seriously injured in the accident and said the results from the blood sample was just a background to the tragedy.

Earlier this year McKee received a ten year driving ban for careless driving, which was one of the toughest penalties ever given in Suffolk and included a £2,000 fine.