A woman who died in a crash on Christmas Day last year was on her way to visit a relative with her partner, an inquest has heard.

Jean Elizabeth Houston, aged 61, died following a two-vehicle crash on the A338 between East Hanney and Frilford near Wantage last year.

The crash also claimed the life of Thomas Pritchard, 31, who died on January 17 at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington.

The inquest into the death of Ms Houston took place at Oxford Coroner's Court on Monday (November 25) and was led by coroner Nicholas Graham. 

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The court heard evidence from PC Christopher Lewis from the Thames Valley Police Forensic Collision Investigation Team.

Ms Houston, who was an operations manager specialist and resided at Ashfield Close, East Hanney, was driving a Red Mini Cooper on the A338 northbound on December 25, 2023.

Her and her partner, Paul Higginson, left the house at around 11am to drive to a relative's house in Southmoor before their restaurant booking at noon.

The court heard the couple, who had been together for 23 years, had a "relaxing morning" which included watching Dr Who, chatting with a neighbour and taking the dog for a walk.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Higginson said he would normally drive but that they had discussed it the night before and Ms Houston said she would drive so he could have a drink. 

Mr Higginson said "everything was normal" and that he had been looking out of the car window at the fields which had recently flooded. 

But when he turned to look in front of him, he saw a white car, and "virtually the full width" of it was in their lane. 

"I thought to myself, it was going to hit us." he said, but added there was "nowhere for us to go" and that he didn't have time to say anything to Ms Houston. 

Mr Pritchard had crossed the central line of the 50mph carriageway at approximately 11.15am, resulting in a head-on collision with the Mini. 

Ms Houston was pronounced dead at the scene and Mr Pritchard was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Mr Higginson escaped with "minor injuries" and was the only witness to the collision. 

The court heard that Ms Houston was "unable to avoid" the oncoming car, and PC Lewis said evidence from the scene indicated the Peugeot was "almost completely on the incorrect side of the road".

The court heard that impairment, driver distraction or a medical episode may have contributed to Mr Pritchard losing control of the car, but the reason "could not be definitively established from the evidence". 

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There was no evidence of drugs or alcohol in Ms Houston's system and there were "no concerns about Ms Houston's driving in any way", the court heard. 

The post-mortem found a Basilar Skull Fracture was Ms Houston's cause of death.

The inquest concluded that Ms Houston had suffered fatal injuries as a result of the collision and was declared dead at the scene. 

Mr Graham said this is a "tragic" case, which happened on Christmas Day "of all days".

Mr Graham added that the reason Mr Pritchard crossed the central line of the carriageway "could not be conclusively established".

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