Widow died after ploughing her car into a river while practicing her driving ahead of a lesson

An 80-year-old widow died after she drove her car into a river while practicing driving manoeuvres under a busy bridge, an inquest heard today.

Jacqueline Welsh was preparing for her driving lesson after a recent knee operation when she ploughed her Toyota Yaris into deep water.

A major rescue operation was launched to rescue her from the the River Wear in Sunderland.

The RNLI, coastguard, a Sea King from RAF Boulmer, firefighters, police and ambulances, were scrambled to the scene at the A19 Hylton Bridge.

Mrs Welsh was freed from her car, which was lying on the river bed and taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

The inquest heard Mrs Welsh, of Westfield Grove, South Hylton, had to have the brake pad of her Toyota Yaris adapted after undergoing a knee replacement and ankle surgery, leaving one leg shorter than the other.

She was due to have a driving lesson with BSM in the afternoon and was practising near the river with carer Jane Cliff.

She asked Ms Cliff to get out of the car so she could practise alone when the accident happened.

PC Philip Whitehead, heading the investigation, told the inquest: ‘Ms Cliff expected the car to turn, because it was pointing towards the river, but instead she saw it move forward.

Skid marks: Mrs Welsh was practising her driving manouvers

‘She saw it go straight forward, down the embankment and into the river, she was convinced it was being driven forward rather than rolling.’

The inquest also heard that Mrs Welsh had been ‘low’ since her husband Tom died two years ago, and her dog and friend had recently died.

There had also been an incident where Mrs Welsh had taken some tablets, but it was not believed they were taken with suicidal intentions.

Her son Bruce said it was ‘inconceivable’ that she committed suicide and thinks her foot may have been stuck on the accelerator by accident.

PC Jeff Gallon, of the collision investigation unit, told the inquest: ‘There were no signs of steerage or breaking. The tyre tracks went on for about 15 to 20 metres before the tide started to move the car and it began to sink.

‘Mrs Welsh did have time to take some form of evasive action if she wanted to but it’s impossible to accurately determine the scenario.

‘I believe it was a conscious decision to drive into the water as it’s unusual to see such steady rolling tyre tracks.’

A statement taken at the time from her son Bruce, who lives in London, was read by coroner Derek Winter.

It said: ‘There was a huge improvement with her paying attention to herself and talking positively about the future.

‘She was looking forward to time with the family and we were planning on moving back to the area, she was talking about Christmas and everything seemed to be good.’

Scene of tragedy: Hylton Bridge and the River Wear in Sunderland

Mr Welsh added: ‘It’s my firm belief that her foot got stuck and a sequence of events happened that ended with her in the river.’

He said it was ‘inconceivable’ that she would commit suicide. ‘My mother just would not do that,’ he said.

Mr Winter, recording an open verdict said: ‘I’m left wondering whether this was a driver error or a deliberate accident.’

At the time of her death in December 6 2007, her son Bruce, who is a fund manager living in Mayfair, London, said: ‘It’s an absolute tragedy. I cannot believe she’s gone.

'She had a wonderful life, was a very lucky person and a good woman.

‘She was a great mother and grandmother. She had a lovely sense of humour.

‘We were planning to come up to Sunderland and stay for Christmas, and I’d just been about to give her a ring on Thursday night.

‘Then a police officer picked up the phone and told me there had been a tragic accident.

‘I was stunned and shocked. I still can’t believe it has happened.’

Bruce, a married father-of-two, added: ‘She was a very good looking woman, she looked a lot younger than her age.

‘She even won a glamorous granny competition a few years back. She will be badly missed.’

Bruce, an only child, said his stepfather, John Welsh, a partner in Sunderland-based engineering firm Welsh and Baker, had died two years ago.

The pair had been married for 30 years before his death.