A Shropshire coroner will write to the Foreign Office to raise concerns about the way taxis are driven on the Spanish island of Tenerife after the death of a former Machynlleth mayoress in a traffic collision.
Mr John Ellery, coroner for mid and north Shropshire, made the pledge at the inquest of former Machynlleth mayoress Elizabeth Warren, held at Shrewsbury Magistrates Court yesterday.
The 66-year-old, who lived in Shrewsbury, suffered head injuries after being hit by a taxi while on a pedestrian crossing in Playa de las Americas on April 6 and died five days later,on April 11, at the Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria Hospital in Santa Cruz.
The inquest heard that the driver of the white Mercedes taxi, Jose Mesa Navarro, is now facing criminal charges on the island.
Mr Ellery recorded a verdict of accidental death and gave the medical cause of death as head injuries.During the inquest, Mr Ellery read parts of a report from the Spanish police. It said the driver claimed he did not notice Mrs Warren and said he was driving at 30 kilometres per hour in second gear.
The report said a witness described seeing the taxi “plough” into Mrs Warren and “knock her to the ground”.
Mr Ellery said: “Mr Navarro is being prosecuted in Spain for alleged offences related to the accident.”
Mrs Warren’s husband Ivan Warren, who did not see the accident, said he was very concerned about taxis in Tenerife.
He said: “We feel no bitterness towards the driver. He has done a terrible thing but he is a young man with a young family and we want him to get on with his life.
“But my wife and I had remarked that taxis simply drive around you when you are crossing.”
Mr Ellery said he would relay Mr Warren’s concerns to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Speaking after the inquest, Mr Warren said his wife’s organs were donated for transplant and she had saved the life of a boy in Cordoba, a girl in Madrid and possibly a third person.
Mrs Warren left a son Andrew, daughter Julia and five grandchildren.
Source: Shropshirestar.com 
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