A45 driver found dead after four days 'may have been impaired' by alcohol and cannabis, inquest hears
The inquest into the death of Nikki Swain, who died after crashing on the A45 near Chester House, has confirmed she died of a head injury but wasn’t found until several days after the collision.
At the inquest held at the Guildhall in Northampton on Tuesday (May 19), coroner Sophie Lomas said alcohol and cannabis may have been a ‘contributing factor in events that followed’,
Ms Lomas said Nikki likely died on July 5 and was ‘not found for a number of days.’
In her final conclusion, the coroner said: “On the 9 July 2025 Nikki Swain was found deceased in her Ford Fiesta motor vehicle in a ditch to the side of the A45 eastbound between Turnells Mill Lane and the A50001 Ditchford Lane. The vehicle had extensive damage indicating it had been involved in a significant collision.
“She was last seen early in the morning of July 5. On that day CCTV footage showed the vehicle was being driven in an erratic manner.
“The subsequent investigation determined, for reasons unknown, Ms Swain had likely lost control of the vehicle, causing it to leave the carriageway before coming to rest in the ditch.
“The conclusion is that of road traffic collision, 1A head injury.”
Nikki Swain, who was from Rushden, had been seen driving ‘erratically’ around Wellingborough town centre at around 5am on the morning of her death, with CCTV footage showing Nikki’s Ford Fiesta travelling around town some time prior to the collision taking place.
At 5.04am her car is seen hitting a curb and continuing through a slight bend, with a camera catching her leaving Victoria Road having travelled through a red light.
The last CCTV footage shows the car travelling south from Midland Road to Castle Way.
CCTV at 9.31am showed that a sign near where the car was found on the A45 had been damaged, leading the coroner to believe Nikki had crashed some time between 5.04am and 9.31am on July 5, 2025.
On the A45, the car left the road immediately after the turn into the entrance for the Chester House Estate entering the nearby tree line.
The car, and Nikki’s body, were found on the afternoon of July 9.
During the hearing, Ms Lomas said: “The evidence in relation to the town centre and sign post was showing evidence of damage.
“It indicates she lost control on that road around that time and her vehicle hadn’t been seen since.
“In terms of what actually happened without any witnesses it’s very difficult to say, but I think the best that can be said is that she lost control of the vehicle on that stretch of road and the vehicle left the carriageway and came to rest in a ditch.
“She likely died immediately at the scene of the incident.
“Her driving may have been impaired as a result of alcohol and cannabis in her system.
“There is some evidence on that evening driving around town that her driving had appeared to be impaired so that may have been a contributing factor.”
The inquest heard that while Nikki had a history of substance abuse which ‘had negative impact on her mental health’, she had been seeking support, beginning in April 2025 and she had been ‘really proud’ of herself during abstinence, having ‘complied and engaged well’ with sessions by charity, Change Grow Live.
PC Shaun Wright from Northamptonshire Police was at the inquest to give evidence, being the officer who was called to the scene when the car was identified by a passing road user.
He was asked to attend the scene at around 5.50pm on July 9, where he says the vehicle had not been moved since the crash.
While at the scene, PC Wright found tyre marks, evidence of a curb strike and a damaged road sign just after the exit of Chester House on a near side verge. Damage suggests the car hit the sign on the driver’s side.
There were no witnesses to the incident, no mechanical defects were found on the vehicle and there was no indication that another vehicle was involved.
PC Wright said: “On the morning of July 5, a road traffic collision occurred on the A45 near Chester House.
“The most probable cause is the driver’s failure to negotiate the bend and subsequent loss of control.
“Sadly Ms Swain died due to injuries sustained during the collision.”
Dr Frances Hollingbury, the pathologist who conducted the post mortem, listed the provisional cause of death as head injury, which was accepted by the coroner.
Dr Hollingbury said: “Such an injury pattern is indicative of impact to the back of the head.
“The impact to Ms Swain’s head had resulted in bleeding in and around the brain, likely resulting in immediate unconsciousness resulting in death shortly afterwards.”
Toxicology reported the presence of raised blood alcohol levels at 118mg (the legal limit for driving is 80mg per 100 millilitres of blood) and also signs of cannabis use.
Dr Hollingbury added: “I cannot determine the precise effect this may have had on Ms Swain, but would have caused some ‘impairment’.
“It is therefore possible the presence of alcohol and cannabis could have played a part in the circumstances surrounding the RTC.
“Ms Swain was a 42-year-old woman who sustained a head injury as a result of a road traffic collision.”