Visually Impaired Woman Killed on Dark Road After Leaving Hospital

On November 17, 2024, a tragic accident occurred on the A47 near Saddlebow, Norfolk, when a 49-year-old woman with a serious visual impairment was struck and killed by a van. The victim, Margarita Korolkevic, had been admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn just days earlier after being found in a local cemetery with her eyes "rolling backwards."

However, Korolkevic left the hospital before receiving treatment, and although staff booked her a taxi, she later walked into King's Lynn and onto the dark, poorly lit A47, where she was hit by a Renault Trafic van driven by a delivery driver with 25 years of experience. A witness reported seeing Korolkevic waving her hands in distress in the central reservation before the collision.

Korolkevic, who was born in Lithuania but had lived in the Wisbech area since around 2015, had a history of poor mental health and alcohol use, according to her medical records. A toxicology report found she was twice the legal drink-drive limit at the time of the accident. Her sister, Ana Podberiozkina, stated that Korolkevic had reported suffering from domestic violence and self-harm, though the coroner found no evidence that she intended to cause self-harm on the road.

The coroner concluded that Korolkevic's death was due to a road traffic collision, stating that she was "a pedestrian on a poorly lit road in the dark, who had a visual impairment and was likely suffering the effects of alcohol when she was struck by a vehicle." Podberiozkina expressed frustration at the "systematic failures" that led to her sister's death, which she believes was preventable.