A transatlantic romance ended in a tragedy when a 23-year-old American woman looked the wrong way while crossing a Salford road before being hit by two cars, an inquest has heard.
Used to traffic travelling on the right side of the road - instead of left as in the UK - Selena Mystera Meyers was seen to be looking away from the Skoda she walked into the path of on January 26, 2021 in Worsley Road, near its junction with Walker Road in Eccles.
She was then also hit by a Renault Clio coming in the opposite direction. The tragedy happened on a 'misty' night when there was fine rain falling and visibility was poor, coroner Simon Nelson was told at the Bolton hearing.
READ MORE: Brothers ran £120,000 eBay 'chop shop' to live 'lucrative lifestyle'
Selena had been visiting her boyfriend Stephen Buckley, of Eccles. The couple had struck up a transatlantic romance after meeting online. She had been due to fly home to Cookeville, Tennessee, just four days after the accident which claimed her life.
The driver of the second vehicle told the hearing that as she drove along Worsley Road she saw Selena dressed in dark clothing crossing 'at an angle' towards her. After getting to the middle of the road, she said Selena was looking to her right, instead of left, before she was hit by a Skoda car coming in the opposite direction.
Selena was flung into the air and also collided with the Clio, which by this time had come almost to a halt. "She seemed to be looking the wrong way," said the Clio driver.
"This made sense when I found out she was American. I know this because I've done it myself when I've been abroad - looking in the wrong direction for traffic."
The Skoda driver and her front-seat passenger told the inquest they simply did not see Selena as she was crossing the road, which has lighting on only one side. As a result, the driver did not brake and black box data fitted for her insurance company and retrieved from her car revealed she was doing 30mph when tragedy struck.
Stephen said the couple met talking in internet chatrooms in 2016 after being introduced by a friend. He said: "We used to speak on a regular basis and talked every other day.
"Over a period of time there was a mutual attraction, even though we hadn't met physically. This increased over time and the conversations would grow and we could talk about anything. In 2018 I asked her to be my girlfriend, and I was overjoyed when she said yes."
In July 2019, Stephen visited Selena in the USA and met her grandparents, with whom she lived, in Tennessee. "The time we spent together was magical," he said.
He returned to the UK and saved up and returned to Tennessee in February, 2020. "When I came back to the UK, we continued to speak daily," he said.
Stephen hadn't been back in the UK long when Selena arranged to come to see him. She arrived in October 2020, but became stranded here during the lockdown. There were problems with accommodation for both them and there was a period when they both homeless. They were eventually placed in temporary local authority accommodation in Catherine Street.
Giving evidence remotely from the USA, Selena's mother Salem Meyers said her daughter was diagnosed with ADHD as a five-year-old and later with Aspergers. She was also being treated for bipolar disorder.
"She loved singing dancing and drawing," said Salem. "She enjoyed everything that was created by Tim Burton, the producer and director."
A conclusion of road traffic collision was recorded.
