Pensioner killed in accident involving daughter’s vehicle

Marie Jones, 79, was sitting in the passenger’s seat waiting for her daughter to come out of the house when the car started to roll away.

It is thought that she climbed out of the car in a panic and was knocked over by the door before the vehicle rolled on to her.

The handbrake is believed to have come off while the car was parked stationary in the driveway in Ulster Crescent, Willowbrae. Mrs Jones was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary by ambulance but died the following day.

Paramedics had treated her at the scene of the accident, which took place at about 12.30pm last Saturday.

A large turn-out is expected today at a funeral service at St Gregory’s in Walter Scott Avenue in the Inch, the church she regularly attended.

Mrs Jones was a mother of two daughters and four sons and had five grandchildren. She is survived by a brother.

A family statement said: “She will be sorely missed, not just as a mother and granny, but as an active member of the Inch community.”

Amanda Gordon, who lives a few doors down from the house where Mrs Jones’s daughter was staying, said: “I came home in the car with my son just after it happened.

“The car, which I think was a Fiat, was in the middle of the road, and the woman was trapped.

“She was not conscious. The paramedics treated her and she was taken away to hospital. I don’t think anyone else saw what happened but some of our neighbours went out to try and help her.”

The street, which is on a steep slope, was shut off by police while they carried out an investigation.

Neighbour Marek Beaumont, 54, who works for the city council, said: “My wife said it looked as if the car was reversing back towards our garden wall when it happened. It’s a terrible tragedy.”

A police spokeswoman said: “Lothian and Borders Police can confirm a 79-year-old woman died on Sunday night after being seriously injured in an incident in Ulster Crescent.

“Only one vehicle was involved in the incident, and no-one else was injured.”