A PRESTON student, who died in a car crash on the M6 motorway, probably fell asleep at the wheel, an inquest in Lancaster heard.

Elizabeth Rose Ellwood, 19, who was a student at the University of Central Lancashire, was returning from a night shift at the Auctioneer pub in Blackpool, in the early hours of Monday, September 24, when her car scraped against a barrier and hit a tree at the bottom of an embankment near Lancaster.

Miss Ellwood, of Redmayne Drive, Carnforth, was working four days a week at the Blackpool pub while studying at the Preston university, sometimes staying with friends in the town when she was working late.

Police Constable Stephen Wilson of Lancashire police's accident investigation unit said that there was no evidence to suggest that any other car had been involved in the incident.

He said that because of the time of the accident, the most likely cause of the crash was that the driver had fallen asleep because the Hyundai Coupe car she was driving had hit the barrier at a very shallow angle.

Another possibility, according to PC Wilson, was that an animal could have run across the carriageway and distracted Miss Ellwood, leading to the crash. A post mortem revealed she died instantly of multiple injuries.

North Lancashire coroner, George Howson, said: "There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that any other person or vehicle was involved in this accident."

A verdict of misadventure was recorded.