news

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

Camden New Journal - By SARA NEWMAN
Published: 24 January 2008

Sheila Whittingham - 'flamboyant' actress

Crash claimed life of ‘flamboyant’ actress

A FORMER actress was crushed under the wheels of a 38-tonne lorry, an inquest heard.
Sheila Whittingham, 88, was a regular at the Boston Arms in Junction Road, Tufnell Park, where it is believed she was heading on the day she died last January.
The widow, who lived at Mary Webster House on Dartmouth Park Hill, performed at the Palladium in her acting days and rubbed shoulders with the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
She later ran hotels including the Grosvenor in Shaftesbury Avenue.
St Pancras Coroner’s Court heard on Tuesday how Ms Whittingham had just got off a bus and was stooped across a walking frame as she crossed the road in the direction of the pub.
At only 5ft tall, the driver of the lorry would not have been able to see her below the dashboard, said coroner Dr Andrew Reid.
He added: “As she crossed (Junction Road), the traffic was at a standstill. She crossed not at a crossing but stepped out in front of and into the path of a large 38-tonne tipper lorry.”
By the time police arrived an ambulance helicopter had already landed on the football pitch of nearby Acland Burghley School.
Ambulance vans and fire crews were also present. The lorry driver was not present at the inquest and police are taking no action against him.
Daley Judd of Euston police, who attended the scene, said: “People were shouting at him to move back. By moving back it is possible he ran over her again.”
She died as a result of the injuries of the accident at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead hours later.
Described by friends as “flamboyant” and “glamorous” she has no known family members and her funeral and inquest was passed into the hands of social services.
Verdict: Accidental death

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment: