Abigail Haythorne was killed as she listened to her MP3 player

Young people have been warned of the dangers of MP3 players after a teenage girl was killed by a car while listening to her iPod.

Abigail Haythorne, 17, died of severe head injuries after she cycled into the path of an oncoming car, apparently without noticing it.

Abigail was declared dead at the roadside. Police found an activated iPod in her pocket with earphones in her scarf.

Driver Christopher Mills told an inquest how Abigail suddenly veered out of a cycle lane into the main carriageway of the A4074, near Benson, Oxfordshire, on October 28 last year.

'I knew there was a cyclist there but I did not expect her to come straight out," he said.

'As soon as I saw her come out I put the brakes on and steered to the right. All I know is that I hit the brakes hard.'

Despite the efforts of paramedics, Abigail was declared dead at the roadside.

PC Gavin Newman of Thames Valley Police, who investigated the accident, said he found an iPod in the teenager's jeans pocket.

'Later on, we found that the display light was illuminated. Her earphones were found tucked inside her neck scarf.' 

PC Mark Howard said forensic tests carried out on the skid marks left by Mr Mills' braking showed he had been travelling 'no more than 45mph' at the time of the accident.

'If Abigail had looked, she would have been able to see the car because there was a visibility of about 250 metres,' he said.

He added that a person with normal hearing would have had no trouble hearing a car at that speed.

'If the earphones were in her ears, it would not have helped her hearing,' he said.

In a written statement, Abigail's mother, Gina told Oxfordshire Coroner Nicholas Gardiner that her daughter had been on the way to work at a local kennel and would probably have been listening to music when she was hit.

'It wouldn't surprise me if she had been cycling with her iPod on, she loved listening to music and always had it on,' she told the hearing.

A post mortem examination carried out by Elizabeth Soilleux, consultant pathologist at John Radcliffe Hospital found that Abigail died of severe head injuries.

Recording his verdict, Mr Gardiner warned cyclists of the dangers of listening to MP3 players on the road.

'Miss Haythorne died as a result of an accident in that she was struck by a car,' he said.

'Whether she could see the car coming we do not know, it is possible that she was wearing headphones at the time.

'I would urge cyclists to reserve their hearing and not to use their earphones while using the roads.'

After the hearing, Mrs Haythorne paid tribute to her daughter, who lived with her family - including father Derek, 40, and brothers George, 15, and Will, 14 - at their home in Wallingford, Oxon.

'She was very outgoing and had lots of friends. She was very full of life,' she said.