(CMR) The death of Jasmine James (31) who was killed by a car driven by her friend in 2020, has been ruled a misadventure in the Cayman Islands Coroner's Court.
James, the then director of Sales at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, was killed after she was hit by a car being driven by her friend on the evening of 4 October 2020.
The coroner's inquest found that James, who was drunk, was accidentally run over after she exited the vehicle and fell in the car park at the Ocean Pointe condo complex where she lived in West Bay.
The court heard that James was given a ride home by a friend when she got out of the car, stumbled, and fell in front of the car. Her friend, in a hurry to help her, jumped out of the car, forgetting to park the car. The vehicle then began rolling forward, and the friend rushed back to stop it; however, instead of getting fully inside the car, she put a foot in trying to stop the car and accelerated instead of breaking.
The car reportedly dragged James and pinned her between a parking block and the underside of the car, preventing her from breathing. Her friend, in panic, screamed for help and was assisted by persons at the complex, who tried to get the car off James. Emergency services arrived within six minutes of a 911 call.
An autopsy concluded James' cause of death was mechanical asphyxia. Investigators concluded that James was already on the ground when she was hit by the car. The court also heard that there was vomit in the car, revealing James had thrown up during the journey home as a result of being intoxicated.
The Court heard that James' friend had no intention of harming her but panicked. As a result, her death was declared one of misadventure.
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