A TEENAGE girl who died after a road accident on the way home from a night out with friends, may not have been wearing a seat belt, an inquest has been told.

Hadlow College student Perri McIlwraith died in a car crash in May after a night out with friends.

The hearing into the death of the 17-year-old was told her injuries might not have been so severe had she been wearing a belt when the Ford Fiesta swerved and rolled on the A26 at Teston, near Maidstone.

But the inquest heard it could not be said for certain Miss McIlwraith, who was one of four passengers in the car, was not wearing a seat belt. It was unclear where in the car Miss McIllwraith had been sitting, and whether she was thrown from it as it rolled.

The court heard the accident happened when Mr James was driving four friends, all students at Hadlow College, home from a night out at a Maidstone nightclub.

Mr James, who tested negative for a breath test after the crash, was the designated driver.

Travelling through Teston, two of the car’s tyres touched loose ground at the South Lodge Bend, and the car veered across the carriageway, hitting the offside kerb and rolling. Police said he was not speeding.

A post-mortem examination showed Miss McIlwraith, of Mackintosh Close, High Halstow, died from multiple injuries.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, coroner Roger Sykes said: "An inquest is not a forum for determining whether anyone was to blame for any death. Another court will be taking a decision in due course relating to the prosecution of the driver for an offence under the Road Traffic Act.

"I wish to extend my deepest condolences to Perri’s family and her friends regarding the most tragic circumstances in which this loss of life occurred."

Police have Mr James is due to receive a summons to appear in court for careless driving.