A mum and her young son died after their car left a country road, plunged into a pond and flipped upside down trapping them both, an inquest heard today (tues).

The bodies of Milan Peter Radocz and his mum Vivien Radocz, 28, were not found and recovered from the wreckage until seven hours after the crash.

An inquest heard both tragically lost their lives whilst driving to a film in Corby, Northamptonshire on the morning of September 3 last year.

Neither of the pair from Stamford, Lincs, managed to escape from the car which was found upside down underwater the same evening.

The inquests into both of their deaths heard yesterday, 7 March, that Vivien "failed to negotiate a sharp left-hand bend" and came off a minor road near Wittering, Cambs.

Coroner Simon Milburn, hearing evidence at Peterborough Town Hall, said: "I would like to pass on my condolences for the family's loss. 

"It is difficult to imagine the extent of their grief of the loss of such a young child."

The 2010 blue Ford Focus spun off the road at around 10.35am crashing through a chain-link fence.

A local man noticed the car due to the fence damage. Image credit: SWBN.

The car then plunged into a pond where it stayed for seven hours before being discovered by a fisherman, who did not realise anyone was still in the vehicle.

Not until after the emergency services arrived did officers realise there was anyone in the vehicle.

A fire officer smashed through the window of the passenger side and found what they believed to be a child's foot.

Paramedics rushed Milan to Peterborough Hospital, Cambs, where he was pronounced dead at 7.44pm that day.

PC Connie Rutter attended the scene at 6.22pm and stated: "At the time it hadn't been identified if there were any occupants in the vehicle. 

"Officers rushed into the water a few minutes later and smashed the window. They carried a child out of the water who was unresponsive. 

"Paramedics scooped the child from the officer's arms and rushed off the scene in an ambulance. Shortly later the officers recovered a body of a female from the vehicle."

Vivien was found without her seatbelt on.

Coroner Milburn recorded Milan's death as drowning after the car came off the 40mph Old Oundle Road near Wittering. 

He said: "The vehicle left the single carriageway on the left side and entered a pond, becoming submerged in water. 

"Milan was unable to escape from the vehicle and was not discovered until 17.30 that day."

CCTV footage documented the last sighting of the pair, leaving Wittering at 10.31am in the car. 

The image shows where the car came off the road. Image credit: SWBN.

The forensic collision investigation found Vivien had steered an "incorrect course" around the sharp bend in the country road, but the reason why she did so was unclear.

Vivien had no pre-existing medical conditions, no evidence that she was speeding or any vehicle defects that would have caused the crash. 

A toxicology report showed there was no alcohol or drugs in her system at the time of the crash.

PC Sean Redman's report stated: "Why she steered an incorrect course is unknown. 

"Her unfamiliarity with the road, a distraction or inattention or a combination appears to me to be the most likely factors in the course of this collision."

Her family told a liaison officer that Vivien would avoid unknown roads and use a SatNav to get around, but there was no evidence of her using a phone at the time of the crash. 

The officer noted main roads in the area were busy that day due to horse trials.

Fisherman and RAF officer John Smith arrived at the pond at 5.30pm that day to do some fishing and didn't notice anything was wrong until 20 minutes later. 

He spotted that the fence was pushed over and then saw a vehicle upside down in the water, the back two wheels sticking out of the surface.

He called the guards of the RAF Wittering air force base which the pond belonged to who arrived 20 minutes after. The guards then called the emergency services at 18.20.

He said: "I didn't call the emergency services because I thought the car had been there for a while due to it being on military premises."

The family of Vivien and Milan have since repatriated to Hungary and have not issued a statement.

A previous crash at the site in 2019 also saw a silver vehicle plunge into the pond after a traffic collision, though thankfully in that incident nobody was injured.

Article by: Debbie Luxon.