Elderly woman dies after being splashed with puddle by passing cars

Hilda Moore suffered head wound after collapsing on pavement

It is thought drivers splashed Hilda Moore by driving through puddles before she died (Getty Images)

A woman in her 90s died after falling over when she was splashed by cars driving through a puddle.

Hilda Moore, 95, was taken to hospital with a head wound after she collapsed on the pavement in the Lincolnshire town of Sleaford, last week.

Police confirmed today she had died from her injuries, and are appealing for witnesses to establish what happened.

Ms Moore's son-in-law Peter Wheeldon, said she was knocked down by a blast of water from passing cars as they ploughed through a large puddle

He claimed several passing cars failed to stop and help her as she lay on the ground, but praised two men in a van for rescuing her.

“We want to raise the issue that you can't keep driving through puddles," he told Lincolnshire Live before she died. “You shouldn't go through a puddle at 30 miles per hour. It's quite probable they [the drivers] don't know they have done it.

“She was rescued by two men in a van going in the opposite direction. They rushed to help her. People still drove through the puddles and they had to put umbrellas up to stop her getting wet. They called for an ambulance.

”She was on the pavement and would have been visible to drivers. My wife and I had driven through about half an hour before. It was clear that the road was flooded and you would be able to see someone.”

A Lincolnshire Police spokesman said: “Earlier this week we issued an appeal for witnesses and information after a 95-year-old woman was injured in Sleaford on Friday, April 27. We are sad to report that the lady involved has now died.

“Officers are investigating the cause of her death and a number of lines of enquiry are being explored to try and establish the exact nature of the circumstances involved.

“It was reported that she fell to the ground but it is not yet clear what caused her to fall and sustain her injuries.”

Anyone with information can contact police by calling 101 and quoting the incident reference number 352 of April 27.

Gerry Walsh, chair of the Sleaford Golf Club where Hilda was a member, paid tribute to the “keen golfer”, who was still playing in her 80s.

He said: “It's very sad news, particularly to happen in that way. It's shocking that such a thing would happen. She joined the club in 2009 and was one of those very upright people, with a great fortitude. She stopped playing in her later years, but was a keen golfer and still came to play bridge here.”