A WOMAN was killed in a road crash yesterday morning after her car left the road and careered into a brick wall.The victim was the second person to lose their life on Essex's roads in the week running up to Christmas after 41-year-old Karen Hopkins died in Chelmsford on Monday.

By Roddy Ashworth

A WOMAN was killed in a road crash yesterday morning after her car left the road and careered into a brick wall.

The victim was the second person to lose their life on Essex's roads in the week running up to Christmas after 41-year-old Karen Hopkins died in Chelmsford on Monday.

Yesterday's crash happened at about 6.40am on the B1022 Maldon Road near Colchester Zoo.

The silver Ford Focus being driven by the woman - understood to be from Colchester and in her 30s - was travelling towards Maldon when the accident happened.

The ambulance emergency operations centre received a call regarding the incident at 6.39am, and an ambulance, a rapid response vehicle and a BASICS emergency doctor were sent to the scene.

An ambulance spokeswoman said: “It's unclear how the accident happened.

“When ambulance crews arrived, they quickly assessed the woman, who was trapped in her car.

“Sadly, despite the crews' best efforts, she could not be saved, and the BASICS doctor declared her to be deceased on the scene.”

Inspector Steve Brewer, of Stanway Road Policing unit, said officers investigating the accident were appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

He said they were particularly interested in speaking to motorists who were travelling in the opposite direction, towards Colchester, when the crash happened.

The woman's identification will not be released by police until her relatives have been informed, a spokeswoman said.

Yesterday, police issued further details about Ms Hopkins, who died on Monday afternoon in Princes Road, Chelmsford.

Ms Hopkins, of Bruce Road, Writtle, leaves a 15-year-old son, Bradley. Her parents were Eunice and Oliver Hopkins, and she had three brothers, Philip, Mark and Paul, who described her as “simply irreplaceable”.

n Two people were taken to hospital after a crash at the top of the slip road on to the London-bound A12 just to the west of Hatfield Peverel.

The accident happened at about 7.50pm on Tuesday. An emergency care practitioner was on scene within four minutes of the call and was backed up by two ambulances.

A Volkswagen cabriolet had collided with the passenger side of a people carrier, which had just left Hatfield Peverel.

The collision spun the VW round leaving it facing the A12. The people carrier had severe damage to the passenger side.