A MOTHER-of-three died after sustaining serious injuries in a car accident while holidaying in South Africa, an inquest heard.

But it is not clear how Karen Taylor’s hire car came to leave the road as she drove back to Cape Town after visiting a game reserve in January last year.

While no other vehicles were involved in the crash, she could have been distracted by taking photos or an animal, the coroner speculated.

Bradford Coroner’s Court heard that Mrs Taylor, 62, of The Coppice, Ilkley, had been spending the New Year with her husband Tim and their daughter Rebecca, who works in Namibia.

They hired a car and Mrs Taylor had driven to a nearby game reserve alone to take part in a tour on January 4, 2016.

Her camera showed she had taken a number of photos prior to the accident and she sent a message shortly before 2pm to say she was on her way back.

But the Hyundai she was driving veered off the N1 highway less than two hours later at a curve in the road, hit a ditch and rolled over before landing on its side in a rocky verge.

Coroner Martin Fleming heard evidence from South African emergency services who attended the scene of the crash.

Mrs Taylor had initially been conscious after the accident but had suffered a cardiac arrest in the ambulance on the way to the hospital and was pronounced dead at 5.40pm.

A post mortem examination found Mrs Taylor’s death was as a result of “multiple traumatic right rib fractures”.

A subsequent report by the hire car firm Europcar found that there were no defects with the vehicle, the coroner’s court heard.

Mr Fleming read out the firm's report, which said: “I have to conclude that she lost control of the vehicle due to inattention to the road and caused the collision solely by her own actions.”

He recorded that Mrs Taylor “sustained fatal injuries after she lost control of her motor vehicle which caused her to leave the carriageway”. He added: “The circumstances that caused her to lose control remain unclear.”

Mrs Taylor, who had battled both thyroid cancer and breast cancer, and used an electronic voice device to speak, was a well-known figure having been the treasurer of Ilkley Candlelighters for a number of years.

Speaking after the inquest, her husband Tim said on behalf of the family: “She is so very much missed.”