A 59-year-old mother who suffered from injuries she sustained when she was hit by a truck on a walk died after taking too much over-the-counter pain relief, a court has heard.

Sarah Overill of Limmer Road, Gorleston, was found dead at her home on the afternoon of March 25 following concerns for her welfare. 

An inquest to investigate the circumstances took place at Norfolk Coroner’s Court where her daughter Salome Thompson described the impact the road accident a month earlier had had on her mother. 

She said: “She had been struggling to sleep and had been going on very long walks in the early hours of the morning to ‘clear her head’. 

“Early morning on February 6, she was involved in a serious traffic incident while on a walk. 

“She told me she took a dizzy spell and fainted into the oncoming traffic, where she was then hit by a truck.” 

Mrs Overill sustained a head injury, a broken rib and hand, and a cut to the ear. 

Mrs Thompson added: “We were advised that she was lucky to have walked away from the accident alive.” 

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She described how her mother’s mood “dipped” after the crash. 

"She told me that she wished that the truck had killed her, and she would often tell me she had had enough and was often teary,” she said. 

"My mum was experiencing a lot of pain following the traffic incident, especially from her head injury. She complained of this several times. 

“My mum told me she managed the pain with paracetamol, and she said to me several times that she’d gotten used to the pain.”

On the day of Mrs Overill's death, her family were unable to make contact with her so Mrs Thompson went to her home where she found her mother had died.

Police and paramedics confirmed the death at the scene. 

Norfolk Coroner's CourtNorfolk Coroner's Court (Image: Newsquest) The medical cause of death was given as acute gastric haemorrhage and erosive gastritis due to paracetamol toxicity. 

Summing up the evidence, area coroner Samantha Goward said: “She obviously had a lot of pain after the road traffic accident – and I wondered if that was a factor as to why she was taking a lot of paracetamol.” 

Concluding, she added: “She died due to the consequences of erosive gastritis which may have been cause of contributed to by a paracetamol overdose. There is no evidence to say whether this was deliberate or accidental, but she had been suffering significant pain with injuries sustained in February 2024.”