Secretary dies on dual carriageway 'after yobs pelt her car with stones'

The sister of a woman who died when her car careered off the road has said that her death was caused by stone-throwing yobs.

Suzanne Singer, 40, suffered multiple injuries when she lost control of her Vauxhall Corsa and smashed into a tree days before Christmas.

Police are investigating reports that teenagers were spotted on a bridge hurling stones and branches at the traffic below.

Miss Singer's sister, Caroline Say, 36, said: "I hope that these youngsters are caught and charged with murder, they killed my sister.

"They should search their conscience and go to the police. If their parents have got any kind of heart they should turn their children in.

"I heard the news from my mum, I just screamed and I can't stop crying.

"She was a lovely person. She liked going out with her friends for meals and loved bingo. She was a very sensitive person, if she saw an old person crossing the road she would help them, she loved animals too."

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Miss Singer, a secretary who lived alone, died from multiple injuries hours after the crash on Saturday as she drove home to Shoeburyness, Southend-on-Sea. She had been out to buy bagels.

She had passed her test at the age of 18 and was described as a "careful driver" by her family.

Just minutes before the accident, two drivers called police to complain that something had been thrown at their cars at the same stretch of the A127 at Dunton, near Basildon.

Essex Police sealed off the road for 28 hours while search teams and CID officers scoured the area for any signs of missiles. Mrs Say added: "The police are treating it as homicide. A man who saw Suzanne said she went under a bridge and as she came out the other side she started swerving.

"Another driver told the police his car window had been smashed by an air gun pellet as he went under the bridge.

"It was foggy, dark and icy. It would have only taken a little shock for her to have crashed."

She added that her sister had hoped to start a family one day and was very close to her two nieces, two brothers David, 33, and Barry, 43, and their mother Anne.

Mrs Say's husband Brian, 39, added: "She was so full of life. If anyone knows what happened they need to tell the police."

An Essex Police spokesman said: "We are getting various people phoning us saying their cars have been struck with stones, pellets and branches along the A127 between Basildon and the M25 on the days preceding this incident.

"We have been pleased with the response to the appeals with many motorists continuing to offer us valuable details.

"We would urge them to contact us, especially anyone who used the dual carriageway towards the end of last week and who thinks their cars were struck by flying objects.

"At this stage officers cannot rule out the possibility that her car was struck by an object so forensic examinations are still being carried out on the vehicle.

"Police patrols along the A127 have been increased and continue to provide a high visibility presence."

Miss Singer's death follows that of lorry driver Laurence McCourt, 68, who died when a breeze block smashed through his windscreen in July.

The block had been dropped from a bridge near Great Doddington, Northamptonshire.

A 15-year-old boy is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to manslaughter.