A UKRAINIAN refugee who fled the Russian invasion with her teenage son died after being struck by a car while walking home from work in Swansea, an inquest has heard.
Tetiana Martynova, 40, originally from Kharkiv, moved to the city in 2022 with her 13-year-old son. She was described as having a “warm and engaging personality” and was much-loved by friends, colleagues and the family who hosted her on her arrival.
The inquest in Swansea heard that on the night of 31 January 2024, Ms Martynova had finished her shift and was speaking on the phone to a friend as she walked along Neath Road, Morriston. She was crossing at what the coroner later described as an “uncommon” location when she was hit by a car and “thrown some distance” towards the opposite carriageway.
The friend she was talking to told the hearing they heard “a thud” and at first thought she had dropped her phone.
She was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, but died the next day from a catastrophic brain injury. The cause of death was recorded as a road traffic collision.
The driver, Tata steelworker Jamie Hitchings, had just finished a 12-hour shift and was driving home. He told the court he did not see Ms Martynova until the moment before impact, as she was dressed in black in an unlit area. He braked sharply and stopped to give assistance, using traffic cones to block the road while he tried to get a response from her.
PC Karl Painter, a forensic collision investigator, said visibility was poor due to heavy rain, darkness and the topography of the 50mph road. Only one streetlight was illuminated at the time. Swansea Council confirmed street lighting in the area had been switched off as part of national energy-saving measures following a risk assessment.
South Wales Police reviewed the circumstances and decided no further action would be taken.
Dr David and Catherine Lloyd, who hosted Ms Martynova and her son when they first arrived in Swansea, said they considered her “like a daughter” and were “heartbroken” at her loss.
Her colleague and friend, Michelle Howells, said Ms Martynova had seemed happy on the day of her death and had spoken of plans to return to Ukraine eventually, as her role with RunTech could be done remotely.
Assistant coroner Paul Bennett concluded that Ms Martynova’s death was the result of a road traffic collision, noting her dark clothing and the location of the crossing as factors.