Christmas Day Staffordshire crash victims not wearing seatbelts
Two of three family members who died in a horrific motorway crash in Staffordshire on Christmas Day were not wearing seatbelts, an inquest was told.
Stoke-on-Trent Coroner's Court also heard the Ford Focus involved in the smash had a defective tyre and was being driven at an average speed of 90mph for almost a mile before it spun out of control.
Mohammed Arsalaan Habib, four and Adnan Habib, 10, and their mother's aunt, Bushra Tazarib, 32, all died of extensive head injuries at the scene on December 25 last year. The boy's mother, Parveen Habib, who was at the wheel of the car, was informed in June that she would face no charges in connection with the crash at junction 15 of the M6 near Keele.
An inquest before the assistant coroner for North Staffordshire, David James, was informed that both Adnan and Ms Tazarib were not wearing seatbelts.
Other evidence showed that while Mohammed Arsalaan was restrained by child-seat crotch and waist straps, he was not wearing shoulder straps. It was also disclosed that at least three of the tyres on Mrs Habib's Ford Focus were underinflated. The fourth had insufficient tread.
The family members, all from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, were en route to a wedding in Bolton when their car spun anti-clockwise across all three lanes of the motorway, mounted a grass verge, smashed into trees and rolled over.
Mrs Habib and her daughter, who was a front seat passenger, were both wearing seatbelts and escaped with minor injuries.
Recording a narrative verdict that all three victims died in a road traffic collision, Mr James said the circumstances were tragic and distressing.
