City headhunter killed when she stumbled into path of truck after leaving her birthday party, inquest told

Mr Kelly-Taylor became worried when he did not hear from his wife for over an hour and called her, only to have a police officer answer her phone and tell him she had been hit by the truck.

She was taken to the Royal London Hospital, where she went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead in the early hours of October 21, with the cause of death given as multiple chest injuries.

The inquest head truck driver truck Edwin Osorio-Mena was slowing down as he approached St Paul's Cathedral and said he did not see Ms Murray-Woodford until just before the fatal collision.

Giving evidence through a Spanish interpreter, he said: "I was going very slow and I heard a bang to the side of the van. I thought it was something to do with my mirror.

"If it was something in front of me I would have seen it. If she had been in front of me I could have braked, but I didn't see her. I just heard a bang and that is why I stopped. I thought I had gone over a bag on the road or a box."

Mr Osorio-Mena, who has been driving vans for 25 years, got out to check the front of the vehicle and could not see anything, before getting back in.

He said: "I was about to accelerate and then I heard a noise of the lady, so I got out and circled the vehicle completely and that's when I saw her.

"The first time I saw her was when she was on the floor. If I had seen her I swear to God I would have avoided that accident."

The van was traveling at around 5mph and the driver was not using his mobile phone, the inquest heard.

The inquest also heard a statement from chef Andrew Harper who was walking nearby and comforted Ms Murray-Woodford at the scene.

Pc Rachel Cook, of City of London Police, said: "She was speaking to me and she told me the wheels of the truck had gone over her chest and abdomen area."

She added: "I got her bag and her phone and there was an incoming call, which turned out to be her husband.

"I answered and I was able to speak to her husband and update him as to what had happened."

The inquest heard CCTV footage from the area showed Ms Murray-Woodford walking along the pavement before turning suddenly and falling into the road.

Investigating officer Pc Timothy Harryman said he saw at the scene some unevenness on the road surface which may have caused her to stumble.

Senior coroner Alison Hewitt gave cause of death as a road traffic collision and said an important factor was that the incident "happened quite quickly".

She said: "She was walking down the pavement and she decided to cross the road.

"Why? It seems to me perhaps because the vehicle had slowed, and it may have seemed it was a safe opportunity for her to cross the road.

"Why did she fall? We have heard in evidence there was some unevenness in the road surface, but it was not dramatic.

"She had been out celebrating her birthday, but I don't think we can reach a conclusion that was directly relevant here, and that has not been the evidence at all."

She added: "This is a terrible and tragic set of circumstances and it is awful that is should have happened."

Ms Murray-Woodford had a degree in psychology from Coventry University, a masters from the University of East London and had qualified as an occupational therapist.

She had worked in Australia as well as London, including spells with Macmillan Cancer Support and the British Heart Foundation.

Giving a short tribute during the inquest, her husband said: "She was a beautiful person - a positive energy, very gracious and compassionate.

"We all knew her in our own way and she touched us all and made us better people. I think of every moment I had with her."