A FORMER chief nursing officer died after she was crushed against railings by her runaway car.

Margaret Kendrick, 63, who worked in Blackburn before her retirement five years ago, suffered a heart attack when she tried to stop her Ford Mondeo running out of control outside an Edgworth nursing home.

Mrs Kendrick, from Green Bank, Harwood, near Bolton, was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary after the accident on Christmas Eve but died on Christmas Day in Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn.

She had been going to collect the death certificate and possessions of her mother Annie Kendrick, who died last Wednesday aged 92 in the Paragon Nursing Home on School Lane.

She noticed the car rolling after she got out and tried to stop it, but she was trapped between the car and metal railings.

Lancashire police are investigating the incident and the car is due to be examined. Mrs Kendrick's sister Denise McNeel has been stunned by the double tragedy. She and her husband Bill flew from their home in West Virginia, USA when they heard about the accident. But because of the limited number of flights over Christmas Mrs Kendrick had died before they reached her hospital bed side.

Mrs McNeel said: "I don't think it has really sunk in yet what has happened. We were obviously upset about my mother although that was not totally unexpected.

"But Margaret was my sister and my best friend at the same time. She was so loving and caring and so full of energy.

"Since she got a computer we kept in touch with e-mails almost every day."

Mrs Kendrick worked as chief nursing officer both in Bolton and Blackburn before she retired five years ago and was also a member of Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Community Health Council. One of her roles when she was working was to inspect nursing homes and she was a well known figure at the Paragon home. She never married or had children, but was devoted to her two dogs who she took walking over long distances.

Mrs McNeel added: "All the staff at Paragon are very upset. My sister went and cheered them all up and took them chocolates and kept everybody smiling up there."

A joint funeral is due to be arranged for Mrs Kendrick and her mother at Ruddheath Church in Northwich, Cheshire, their original home town, probably on Thursday, January 6.

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