Learner driver died in car-rolling accident in Weston-super-Mare

Aaliyah Sedley-Jones was described by her mum as 'too perfect'

A 17-year-old girl died in a "tragic" accident when the car she was waiting in rolled downhill and flipped over.

Aaliyah Sedley-Jones, known as Lily, died in the crash in Spring Hill, Weston-super-Mare on 5 January.

An inquest was told she was waiting in her father's car when the engine started, which disengaged the automatic handbrake.

In a tribute, her family said Miss Sedley-Jones was a "breath of fresh air".

Avon Coroner's Court was told the 17-year-old went out to her father Benjamin Jones' silver Citroen C4 Picasso to wait for him and one of her four brothers at about 20:15 BST.

He spotted her in the driver's seat and heard the engine start.

Mr Jones tried to open the driver's door as the car began to roll down the 11.6% gradient hill, but it was travelling fast enough for the doors to lock automatically.

The doors of a Citroen C4 lock when a car travels faster than 6mph (about 9.6kmph).

"I couldn't hold on to it any longer," he said.

During the inquest, police reported the drivers' door had opened at some point during the crash.

The C4 hit a car, before hitting a grass verge, a wall and then a lamp post which caused it to flip and hit Miss Sedley-Jones.

Mr Jones said: "I have no idea why Lily got into the driver's seat." He added he would "think about it every day".

Provisional licence

Neighbours rushed to help Mr Jones and managed to pull his daughter from under the car.

Paramedics arrived and Miss Sedley-Jones was declared dead at the scene at 20:49.

Avon and Somerset PC Matt Hearn investigated the crash and said while Miss Sedley-Jones had her provisional licence she had not driven the car before.

He said rolling down a hill backwards in a car she did not know would have been a "stressful situation" and "may be why she was unable to stop the car".

No fault was found in the car and a post-mortem examination by Dr Edward Sheffield concluded Miss Sedley-Jones had died of cerebral injuries.

Coroner Maria Voisin said it was an "incredibly tragic event" and recorded the death was accidental.

In a previous tribute, her mother said: "You were my best friend, a breath of fresh air and you lit up any and every room."

She added: "You genuinely were too perfect for this cruel world and the time where I can be with you again cannot come soon enough."

She said that Lily's four brothers along with her family and friends "will keep your memory alive as long as we all live".