A 69-year-old who died in a three-vehicle crash involving a lorry on the Newtown bypass has been named as local woman Pauline Reeves.
She was the driver of a car that collided with a heavy goods vehicle between the Kerry Road and Dolfor Road roundabouts on Tuesday afternoon, April 23.
Sadly, Ms Reeves, who lived in Kerry, near Newtown, died at the scene.
Police, firefighters, and paramedics rushed to the scene of the three-vehicle crash and diversions were in place for around 12 hours, with police directing traffic through the afternoon and evening while a crash scene investigation and recovery work took place.
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An inquest into Ms Reeves' death was opened at Pontypridd Coroner's Court on Friday, May 3, which heard that the 69-year-old's cause of death was multiple injuries.
The hearing was told that Ms Reeves' vehicle was travelling in the westbound direction towards Caersws when she entered an oncoming lane and collided directly with a heavy goods lorry.
Assistant coroner Rachel Knight said she was satisfied that it was necessary to open the inquest because there was a reason to suspect that Ms Reeves' death was "unnatural".
“I would like to take this opportunity to express my condolences to the friends and family of Pauline Reeves at this sad time," she added before adjourning the hearing to allow a full inquest to be held at a later date.
Emergency services, including fire and rescue crews from four Powys towns, scrambled to the collision involving a lorry and two cars, with specialist medical care being needed for those involved.
Witnesses said an air ambulance was seen and the Welsh Ambulance Service confirmed that multiple medical crews with specialist staff had been sent to help treat the injured crash victims.
After confirming that a woman had died in the serious collision, Dyfed-Powys Police said: “Next of kin has been advised and our thoughts remain with them at this sad time".
A temporary 30mph zone remains in force along a section of the Newtown bypass while repairs can be made.
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