‘It has taken its toll’: Sheffield family's ongoing grief over mum killed in M1 smash

Nargis Begum, 62, a mother-of-five and grandmother-of-nine, died in September 2018 after a car smashed into her and husband Mohammed’s broken down car on a stretch of smart motorway near Woodall Services.

Both had already exited the Nissan Qashqai when it was hit by another vehicle, pushing it into Mrs Begum.

Earlier this week, a coroner investigating Mrs Begum’s death said she was considering whether Highways England should face manslaughter charges over the crash.

Now Mrs Begum’s daughter Saima Aktar has spoken out on the tragedy and how it has taken its toll on the family.

Minutes before the collision the couple had phoned Saima who arrived at the scene to find paramedics trying to save her mum.

Saima said: “While time continues to pass the feeling of grief and loss we feel over mum’s death doesn’t.

“The last two years and trying to come to terms with what happened has been incredibly difficult, especially for my dad. That he avoided injury but his loving and caring wife of 45 years died in front of him has taken its toll on him.

“We continue to have a number of concerns about the events surrounding mum’s death and hope that the inquest will help provide us with answers.”

At a pre-inquest review in Doncaster earlier this week, coroner Nicola Mundy heard how 16 minutes and 21 seconds elapsed between the Nissan breaking down and the collision.

And she said it was a further six minutes and 15 seconds before warning signs were activated.

Ms Mundy said this made a total of 22 minutes and 36 seconds between the breakdown and warnings being displayed.

The coroner said: “I want to know why, essentially. It’s as simple as that.”

Ms Mundy said she was considering whether to adjourn the inquest in order to make a referral to the CPS about any potential homicide.

The coroner said she needed a lot more information about smart motorways from Highways England to build a full picture.

The case was adjourned until February 11 for a further pre-inquest review.