MOL
LONDON
A beauty queen died when she lost control of her Mercedes while travelling at 111mph and crashed following a 'monstrous row' with her boyfriend.
Bonnie Hiller, who had once been banned from entering Miss England because she was married at the time, died instantly from her injuries after she lost control of the grey convertible and collided with a bridge under the A12 bypass in Kelvedon, Essex. An inquest into her death heard that the 27-year-old had been seen reaching speeds of 120mph before the crash when she was thrown from the car.
Speaking after the inquest, her devastated father Paul claimed his daughter had driven off at high speed following a 'monstrous row' with her boyfriend. He said: 'People who knew her knew she was a very slow driver - very careful. 'She had a monstrous row - something made her flip.' Ms Hiller was crowned Miss Colchester and Miss East Anglia in 2009 and should have gone on to compete in the Miss England competition, but had to step aside when it emerged she was a 'Mrs', having got married. She was pursuing a modelling career.
Her father added: 'She was a perfect daughter. 'She was very quiet, she loved animals and I don't think she ever even squished a fly. 'She was very strong-willed and knew what was right. She could not understand how people could be nasty. 'She was a strong character and she was very beautiful - she did not realise how beautiful she was.'
Ms Hiller was crowned Miss Colchester and Miss East Anglia in 2009 and should have gone on to compete in the Miss England competition, but had to step aside when it emerged she was a 'Mrs', having got married. The inquest heard how she was seen driving through a village at double the 30mph speed limit and was still accelerating.
Witness Kelly Windard said: 'I saw the Mercedes. It was going really fast, which drew my attention to it. 'I drive a Vectra - a big car - and when it went by, my car shook.' Another witness, Louise Pepper, who came across the scene of the accident and phoned the emergency services, said Ms Hiller was driving at speeds between 100mph and 120mph by the time she passed them.
She said: 'The first thing I saw was debris. 'There was a tyre and the engine quite a way from what was left of the car and it was on fire.' PC Duncan Thurlwell, a crash scene investigator from Essex Police, estimated the car's speed at 111mph after examining the scene. He explained Ms Hiller lost control on a bend and told the court no driver could have kept control of the car on that bend at that speed.