Nigerian Killed By A Lorry After Storming Out Of Car During Row With Wife In UK

A Nigerian man was killed on a motorway after getting out of a car on the way to the airport after a fight with his wife over their credit card.

A husband died when he stormed out of his car on the M25 and was hit by a lorry after a blazing row with his wife.

Florence Olokun-Ola had pulled over on what she and her husband Nahinmu Nicholas both thought was the hard shoulder, not realising it was a live lane because of roadworks.

Moments later the 53-year-old man was knocked down and killed by a bread lorry, as he tried to thumb a lift for the onward journey to Heathrow airport, on the side of the motorway.

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The couple had been in the middle of a heated argument about Mr Nicholas taking the family credit card abroad with him when he stormed out of the car clutching his suitcases.

Details of the couple's row as they headed for the airport in their Ford Focus car were revealed at an inquest into Mr Nicholas’ death.

A coroner heard that in the midst of their row Mr Nicholas and his wife had missed signs warning motorists that owing to roadworks the hard shoulder was being used as a live lane.

An approaching Warburtons lorry driver was unable to avoid the 'hitch-hiker' as he suddenly caught sight of him in the murky early morning.

The lorry also struck the couple’s car during the freak accident just six minutes after they had stopped on the clockwise carriageway of the M25 at junction 6 for Godstone, Surrey.

The inquest in Woking, Surrey, heard that Mr Nicholas was being driven to Heathrow Airport by his wife at 4.30am on April 10, when the row started in their car.

Mrs Olokun-Ola said that her husband was going to Nigeria alone for 12 days and that the fight started because she wanted their bank card while he was away.

'The argument became very aggressive and his voice changed,' she said.

Mrs Olokun-Ola, who earlier told how things were tense at home due to financial problems, explained she no longer felt comfortable driving and pulled over to what she thought was the hardshoulder.

'He took off his seat belt,' she said. 'As soon as the car stopped he took the keys and opened the boot and took out his luggage. He put it by the crash barrier.'

In a bid to get her husband back in the car Mrs Olokun-Ola drove forward a bit, but he started to walk back down the carriageway trying to thumb a lift.

Then 13 tonne truck being driven by Martin Hook hit the rear of the Ford Focus.

'I got out the car and at first I was angry because he didn’t come running over to see if I was okay,' she said. 'I initially couldn’t see him anywhere.'

The court heard that she then discovered her husband’s body and raced back to her car to dial 999.

Mr Hook said that he was travelling through the roadworks at 50mph on the dry spring morning.
'The next thing I knew was there was a dark shadow in front of me,' he said. 'I turned straight away to the centre of the carriageway.'

Mr Hook said he never saw anybody outside of the car. A post mortem examination concluded that Mr Nicholas died as a result of severe head injuries.

Police accident reconstruction expert PC Dominic Gibson said that the stretch of the M25 where the accident happened was unlit.

He said that there were signs warning motorists that the hard shoulder was now a live lane.

Assistant Surrey Coroner Michael Burgess recorded a verdict that Mr Nicholas died as a result of a road traffic collision.