A woman who died after a head-on collision suffered a blood clot in her leg, an inquest has heard.

Sharon Field, of Meadow Way in Offley, was driving on the A11 in Suffolk when she became ill at the wheel – with her silver Volkswagen Passat crossing the carriageway and colliding with a truck.

The 56-year-old suffered traumatic injuries in the crash on April 1 and died at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge the following day.

The post-mortem examination read out at an inquest last week has revealed she was suffering from a pulmonary thromboembolism – a blood clot in an artery – arising from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in her right calf.

The effects of the pulmonary embolism “likely caused her to lose control of the vehicle itself,” the inquest heard.

Reading from the report of PC Karl Hale, investigating officer from the serious collision investigation team, coroner Dr Peter Dean said Mrs Field’s car crossed the carriageway and into the path of the truck, and also hit a Citroen Picasso.

Collision investigating officer PC Kevin Stark believed Mrs Field’s pulmonary embolism was the most likely cause of the crash.

No problems with the vehicles themselves were identified as having caused the collision, and drugs or alcohol were not a factor.

Dr Dean made a narrative conclusion. He said: “She died from the combined effects of a traumatic brain injury sustained in a road traffic collision caused by pulmonary thromboembolism and deep vein thrombosis.”