Wife killed trying to retrieve shoes on M40
A woman from the West Midlands died after trying to retrieve shoes which had fallen onto a motorway, it emerged today.
A woman from the West Midlands died after trying to retrieve shoes which had fallen onto a motorway, it emerged today.
Patricia Gardner, aged 64, from Walsall, died when she was hit by a car on the M40 in south Warwickshire as she and her husband were setting off on holiday.
She is believed to have ventured onto the carriageway to pick up shoes that fell out of a shoe bag tied to the top of their car. Barry Gardner, 74, today described his wife of 22 years as a "first-class woman" and "one of the kindest people you could meet."
Speaking from the couple's home in Fishley Close, Little Bloxwich, Mr Gardner said: "Pat was fun-loving and would do anything for anybody. She'd always got time for people.
"She never had a bad word to say about anyone. Everybody she met loved her.
"She was always full of life and had a real zest for it.
"She loved going on holiday and we had some amazing times. She used to say the way she got through the winter was by counting down to the next holiday."
The couple, a close friend and their pet dog Alfie were travelling to Portsmouth to catch a ferry to the Isle of Wight when tragedy struck at 9am on June 25.
