A mother-of-four who died in a crash in Thorndon was not wearing a seat belt, an inquest has heard.
Sonya Colton, 29, of Roman Way, Stoke Ash, described by her family as “a much-loved princess to many” died on December 27, 2016, following a single-vehicle collision on Thwaite Road.
Ms Colton was discovered close to the Green Peugeot she was driving having suffered severe cervical and thoracic spinal injuries in the collision.
In a tribute following her death, her family said: “The day she left this Earth was the day all our lives changed forever.
“You will be so deeply missed and never forgotten.”
Forensic collision investigator PC Forbes Scott told the inquest, at Suffolk Coroners’ Court on Monday, that Ms Colton had taken the vehicle following an argument with her partner.
Mr Scott said at the time of the crash, Ms Colton only had a provisional licence so should not have been driving without supervision and had not been displaying L plates at the time of the crash.
He said Miss Colton had been driving towards Thorndon, between 2.30am and 8.30am when her car veered off the road ahead of a right hand bend and careered into a row of hedges and trees.
He said airbags had been deployed but Ms Colton had not been wearing a seat belt.
Assistant Coroner Dr Dan Sharpstone said she had managed to get herself out of the car but had died some time after.
During a post mortem, blood samples had been sent for testing at Randox Testing Services.
However, Dr Sharpstone said the results of the toxicology tests could not be trusted as the firm has since faced allegations connected to the manipulation of data. He said this was the reason it had taken so long for the inquest to move forward.
However, Dr Sharpstone did confirm that Ms Colton had amphetamine, ketamine, cannabis, cocaine, as well as therapeutic medical drugs in her system - although the tests could not show the amount she had taken nor when she had consumed the drugs.
He said: “There are levels of drugs in her system but the relevance of these is difficult to ascertain in light of issues relating to Randox.”
Dr Sharpstone concluded Ms Colton died as a result of a road traffic collision.
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