THE grieving family of drink driver Gemma King who died following a collision into a wall have urged other drivers to learn from her mistake.
An inquest at Shire Hall, Gloucester, heard how Gemma, 26, lost control of her BMW and collided into a dry stone wall on her way home to Lower Oddington after an evening of drinking.
She was rushed to Cheltenham Hospital by paramedics but died five days later of organ failure.
Collision investigator PC David Holland said that Gemma was thrown from the car when she hit the wall.
She was travelling at 25mph at the time.
Gemma, who had a promising career in Bourton-on-the-Water working with horses, was three times over the drink-drive limit and was not wearing a seatbelt - something experts believe could have saved her life.
Motorist Christopher Clarke told the inquest he saw Gemma's car cross the white line and collide into the wall.
He stopped and looked inside the vehicle to see if anyone was hurt before he heard Gemma moaning and saw her lying on the ground.
Recording a verdict of accidental death, Gloucestershire coroner Alan Crickmore said: "This is yet another of those sad cases where a person deliberately flouts the law and absolute common sense whilst driving in a drunken state, without a seatbelt, then loses control."
Gemma's family did not attend the inquest but said in a statement: "We hope motorists learn from our experience by ensuring they never drink and drive and always use a seatbelt whenever they climb into a car.
"If following this simple advice prevents just one family from going through the pain we have had to endure in recent months then Gemma's death will not have been in vain."
"Gemma was only 26 when she died. She was a beautiful girl - a social butterfly who always took the time to speak to everybody."
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