A 21-YEAR-old home carer from Newton Abbot overtook three cars in a busy street seconds before crashing into a tree. Her customised black Citroen Saxo burst into flames before horrified onlookers could save her and her body was so badly burnt it could only be identified by dental records.

A police accident investigator told the inquest into the death of Kellie Faulkner, of Chestnut Drive, that she had been travelling 'at speed', but he was unable to determine exactly how fast she was driving. Eyewitnesses in Lymington Road, Torquay, put the speed at anywhere between 50mph and 70mph. The street has a 30mph speed limit. Blood and urine tests carried out at the post mortem found low traces of ecstasy, cannabis and amphetamines, which consultant biochemist Dr Lynn Bower said would have impaired Miss Faulkner's concentration and judgement and slowed her sense of time. Cause of death was given as severe burns and head injury. The inquest at Torquay heard that Miss Faulkner left her home at 7pm on Sunday, August 21, last year, to meet a friend at The Rainbow, Torquay. Minutes later on the Milber road, a passenger in a red Peugeot 309 hatchback noticed a black Citroen Saxo with the words 'Citroen tuning' in pink writing on the windscreen, driving very close to their rear. The driver, Russell Trigg, of Torquay, said he recognised the car and Miss Faulkner by sight as they were both 'into modifying vehicles'. He said he had attended meetings of SW Cruising, of which she was a member. 'She was behind me egging me on to go a bit quicker,' he said. Once in the outskirts of Torquay, he said he slowed to 20-25mph to let her pass. 'She then chose, for whatever reason, to continue on past another couple of vehicles, which is when the accident happened.' In the split second before impact, he did not recall seeing her brake lights. Coroner Ian Arrow warned Mr Trigg against incriminating himself, saying that he had the right to remain silent. Then he asked what speed Mr Trigg had been driving at and whether he had been racing Miss Faulkner. Mr Trigg denied speeding or that he had been racing against the other car. Miss Faulkner's mother, Victoria Harris, challenged Mr Trigg's version of events. She said that on the night before he gave his police statement he visited her at home. 'He gave me some money and drew a map, which is nothing to what he has given now. It is now completely different. He told me he was racing Kellie.' Lewis White, an electrician, driving a green VW polo, had just turned right into Lymington Road when he saw two cars abreast in the road, a black car passing a red car. 'I would estimate their speed at least 50mph.' In front of him a silver grey Mitsubishi 200 had pulled up to allow another car to back into a parking space. Mr White saw the black Saxo clip the Mitsubishi and hit the tree and a wall. 'I was saying: "no, no, no, oh s***". I got out of the car and could see flames.' Andrew Smith, the driver of the Mitsubishi, told the inquest: 'I saw a dark- coloured vehicle in a tree, with pink lettering in the window. I knew there was nothing I could do. A man said: "It's going to blow" and seconds later it was engulfed in flames.' Toby Sleight, a passenger in one of the cars Miss Faulkner had just overtaken, rushed into a shop for a fire extinguisher. But when he came out it was too late. The inquest heard that modifications carried out to Miss Faulkner's Saxo, in particular lowering the suspension, had resulted loss of fluid from the power steering system. However, in his findings, Philip Rowan-Smith, a police collision investigator based in Exeter, said that there was nothing wrong with the car. In his recreation of events, he said that after Miss Faulkner's car struck the rear of the Mitsubishi, it hit the tree and wall almost vertically. The Mitsubishi then shunted forward into two other cars. Four months before her fatal crash, Miss Faulkner, along with three other drivers, was stopped and warned for speeding along Riviera Way. MPC Ian Harvey said that Miss Faulkner was 'dismissive', assuring him that she was a good driver. At the time of her accident Miss Faulkner had nine penalty points on her licence for previous speeding offences. Declaring a verdict of accidental death, coroner, Mr Arrow, said: 'Kellie was a bubbly extrovert girl who clearly liked her car and put a lot of effort and resources into it and clearly liked driving it. p After the inquest, Miss Faulkner's family issued the following statement. 'As you will appreciate this has been a very distressing time for our family. We are still mourning Kellie's death. 'Kellie was a young, beautiful and happy person in the prime of her life. We are still trying to understand and come to terms with the tragic circumstances of her death. 'Today has been a long and difficult day and we feel relieved the inquest is now over. We would like our peace and privacy to be respected so that we can go on with the business of getting on with our lives. 'We would like to thank Kellie's friends and all our friends and family who have supported us during this time.'