Did faulty sign cause triple death crash?

Three family members killed in a car crash could have made an illegal right turn because a sign banning the move was faulty, an inquest heard.

Rajendra Patel, 56, was being driven to Heathrow so that he could fly to India and finalise plans for his oldest son's wedding. After missing their exit, his sister Vasumati Patel, 62, tried to make a U-turn and a white van ploughed into their Honda Civic, killing her, Rajendra and their brother-in-law Niranjanbhai Patel, 57, on January 17.

The inquest at West London coroners' court heard that the no-right turn sign at a junction near Hatton Cross Tube station might not have been illuminated as it should have been. TFL chief engineer Brendon Sleight said when the sign was checked later on the day of the accident it was found to be faulty - but added that the crash could have damaged the cable.

The sign is one of only 231 traffic signalling locations out of 4,906 in London that do not have automatic fault reporting as the technology installed in 1996 is too old.

Before the crash it was last checked in December. It will be modernised early next year. Fiona Canby, counsel for TfL, said: "It is TfL's case that it cannot be said that the lack of illumination was a causative or contributing factor to the death."

One of the "potential causes" for the cable fault leading to a blown fuse was "the impact itself". Rajendra's son Jaydeep Patel, 18 at the time, was also in the car but was saved by a suitcase. He told the inquest he was knocked unconscious but woke to find his father dead and his aunt and uncle taking their final breaths.

The court heard van driver Peter Brown, who was travelling at about 40mph, had "no chance" to avoid the collision and it was unclear if Mrs Patel made the illegal turn because she had not seen the sign. Coroner Sarah Ormond-Walsh reserved her verdict until December 19.