Charlotte Harrison inquest: Student, 18, could have suffered a medical episode when she collided with a tractor on her way home from college in Yorkshire

Charlotte Harrison, from Leeming Bar, celebrated her 18th birthday only days before she died in the crash on the A6055 near Holtby Hall on April 1 last year.

The teenager, who was from a military family based at RAF Leeming, was diagnosed with a degenerative kidney condition as a child and had to manage regular pain, discomfort and hospital admissions throughout her life.

She had only just recovered from Covid-19 on the day of the collision and her family fear she could have suffered a ‘dizzy spell’ before she lost concentration and her Fiat 500 drifted across the carriageway into the opposing lane, where it struck the tractor and trailer driven by local farmer Kathryn Thomas. Charlotte lost consciousness instantly and died at the scene from multiple injuries. Miss Thomas was not hurt.

The inquest at North Yorkshire Coroner’s Court heard that both drivers were travelling at a speed below the limit for their class of vehicle, neither was under the influence of alcohol or drugs and neither vehicle was defective. Environmental factors such as the weather were also ruled out.

The hearing was told that Charlotte, who was a student at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington and wanted to study veterinary nursing at university, had consulted an RAF doctor about low mood and was taking part in an NHS mental health support programme conducted online for patients with moderate depression.

A clinician who dealt with Charlotte’s reviews said her participation in the programme was regular, she made good progress and no concerns had been flagged. Her level of risk of self-harm was deemed low based on answers she had given to questions.

On March 25, she had a telephone conversation with a psychological practitioner and told her that she was feeling stressed about revision and had felt unwell with Covid. Although she admitted to having ‘thoughts of not wanting to be here’, she denied any intent to act on them, saying her younger sister Mya was her ‘protective factor’.

Tractor driver Miss Thomas, who was transporting a load of chicken manure from Sinderby to Atley Hill, said she was driving at 34mph on a straight section of the road with very little traffic, and had ‘no time to react’ or even brake when she saw the Fiat 500 suddenly cross into her lane. She reported that the car had been driven normally as it approached.

A North Yorkshire Police investigation recovered footage from Charlotte’s own dashcam, which found that there was ‘no audible or visible reaction’ from her once the car had begun to cross the carriageway,

Forensic collision investigator Traffic Constable Paul Harris said: “There is no obvious reason for it. She was in good spirits and a deliberate act seems unlikely. I believe at that moment she was not looking through the windscreen, possibly due to some distraction or inattention.”

TC Harris added that a medical episode could not be ruled out, but that pathologists would usually find evidence of one at postmortem.

Recording a conclusion of death in a road traffic collision, assistant coroner Jonathan Leach said: “Charlotte was a young woman who had experienced difficulties in life. She didn’t allow them to detract from her life, and she had resilience and determination. Her family were loving. On April 1, she had been to college as normal and was looking forward to the weekend. There is no apparent reason that Charlotte left her lane. It was possibly a medical episode, but we will never know the true reason.”

Charlotte’s mother Claire Brenner added: “She was a typical teenager, full of life and crazy. Shre’d been through a lot in her life. She was fiercely loyal to her friends and a central cog in the family. She brought out the crazy in the rest of us. The house is so quiet now, and there is a void in our lives.

"She was all about family. We moved around a bit so family was the constant for her. She was a real character who didn’t have time for nonsense. and people liked her for that.”