Reasons behind Newmarket woman Astrid Gruszecki’s death on A11 still a mystery

A coroner said he was not convinced a Suffolk woman, who died when she was hit by a car in the fast lane of the A11, had intended to take her own life.

Thirty-one-year-old Astrid Gruszecki, of Houldsworth Terrace in Newmarket, died on Saturday, April 22, in the southbound carriageway of the road after she was struck by a Jaguar XF near Swaffham Bulbeck.

At an inquest in Huntingdon on Tuesday, November 14, Cambridgeshire coroner Simon Milburn said there were too many unknowns and uncertainties about why she was there, and what she was doing for him to record a suicide verdict.

Instead, he concluded she died as the result of a road traffic collision.

“The fact that there are so many unanswered questions, and so many unknowns, and her state of mind on that evening, that I am reluctant to record this as a suicide because there are a number of factors at play,” he said.

Mr Milburn said he accepted that Ms Gruszecki had a number of life experiences both in terms of things that happened to her, and others within her family, that would have adversely impacted her mental health.

However, he said he did not feel it was appropriate to go into details.

The inquest was told she had been known to mental health services and been on medication in the past.

“She was struggling with her mental health but whether she was crossing the road, walking down the carriageway or just stood is unclear,” said Mr Milburn.

On the night she died, the inquest was told, Ms Gruszecki had left her home on foot, sometime between 7pm and 9pm and had been reported missing at 10.32pm. She had been wearing a grey hoodie and black jeans.

Toxicology tests showed no evidence of drugs in her system but the inquest was told it had not been possible to obtain a sample to test for blood alcohol levels. The coroner said there was nothing to suggest she had been drinking.

The hearing heard Ms Gruszecki died as a result of massive injuries to her head and body as a result of being hit by the car, which police accident investigators estimated would have been travelling at between 56 and 80mph at the moment of impact..

Their report said the driver would have only had seconds to react once she had appeared in his car's headlights. There was no evidence driver had been distracted, had been under influence of drugs or alcohol or using a mobile phone.

If you need urgent mental health help, call 111 and choose the Mental Health option. For The Samaritans, call 116 123.