Mum's tribute to 'beautiful' daughter who died on M5

The mother of a teenage girl who died after fleeing a police vehicle on the M5 has paid tribute to her "beautiful daughter".

Tamzin Hall, 17, from Wellington, Somerset, sustained fatal injuries when she was struck by a car between junction 25 at Taunton and 24 at Bridgwater shortly after 23:00 GMT on 11 November.

The opening of an inquest into her death heard Tamzin had been under arrest and was travelling in an Avon and Somerset Police car that had stopped on the motorway.

In a statement released after the hearing, Tamzin’s mother Amy Hall described her eldest daughter as her "best friend" and said the death had left their family "devastated".

Ms Hall said Tamzin, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, was "taken far too young".

"Tamzin was the most kindest, caring, loving, loyal girl ever," she said.

"She was the most honest person I’ve ever known; she was very special to me.

"She was my shadow from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning until she went to sleep at night.

"She was such an intelligent young girl and had such interesting perceptions on things in life."

She added: "Tamzin was my absolute everything and I can’t believe she isn’t here anymore. She was my world."

The inquest opening at Wells Town Hall heard Tamzin, who was a student, got out of the car and crossed the road before climbing the crash barrier.

She was hit by a vehicle driven by a member of the public travelling on the southbound carriageway and sustained fatal head, neck and chest injuries.

Coroner’s officer Ben Batley told the hearing: "Tamzin was a passenger under arrest in a police vehicle travelling on the northbound carriageway on the M5 when it stopped for reasons yet to be established."

Mr Batley described how Tamzin then got out of the car before going across the northbound lane, climbing the barrier and making her way on to the southbound lane where she was struck.

Tamzin was pronounced dead at 23:10 GMT and identified by fingerprint comparison.

"Her injuries were not survivable and Tamzin was declared deceased where she was found on the motorway," Mr Batley said.

"Police and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) inquiries are ongoing as to the circumstances of the collision and how Tamzin came to be where she was found."

Mr Batley said a post-mortem examination gave a provisional cause of death as head, neck and chest injuries pending further investigations.

Samantha Marsh, senior coroner for Somerset, said: "On the basis of the information provided to me, I believe I should open an inquest into the death of Tamzin Ellen Hall."

She adjourned the case until a pre-inquest review hearing on 5 November next year, which Mrs Marsh said was the earliest available date due to the complexity of the case.

Tamzin’s family, Avon and Somerset Police, the IOPC and the driver of the vehicle which collided with Tamzin were recognised as interested people in the inquest.

The circumstances of Tamzin’s arrest and her transportation, as well as how she left the police car and what happened afterwards will also be examined.

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