A retired jockey died when she fell onto an eco-friendly metal drinking straw that went through her eye and impaled her brain, an inquest heard today.
Elena Struthers-Gardner, 60, suffered horrific brain injuries after the freak accident at her home in Broadstone in Poole, Dorset on November 22.
She was carrying a mason jar glass with a screw-top lid when she collapsed, with the 10in stainless steel straw entering her left eye socket and piercing her brain.
Today a coroner said metal drinking straws should never be used with a lid that fixes them in place, and warned that ‘great care should be taken’ while using them.
They have increasingly replaced plastic straws after BBC’s Blue Planet drew attention to ocean pollution, with the UK alone throwing away 8.5 billion every year.
Elena Struthers-Gardner (pictured right) with her civil partner Mandy, who found her with a straw impaled through her eye
In a statement read by the coroner, her wife Mandy told of the moment she found her partner, also known as Lena, with a straw sticking through her eye.
She said: ‘I went to the kitchen door and could see Lena lying on her front at the doorway between the den (a room where she watched TV) and the kitchen.
‘She was making unusual gurgling sounds. Her glass cup was lying on the floor still intact and the straw was still in the jar.
‘I noticed the straw was sticking into her head. I called 999 and requested an ambulance.
‘While I was on the phone, Lena appeared to have stopped breathing. The lady on the phone asked me to turn her over.
‘I slid the glass off the straw and turned her over. I could see the straw had gone through her left eye.’
Elena (pictured) was carrying a mason jar glass with a screw-top lid when she collapsed, with the 10in stainless steel straw entering her left eye socket and piercing her brain
Mrs Struthers-Gardner was rushed to Southampton General Hospital in Hampshire.
Her wife continued: ‘I was quickly informed that due to the severity of her injury it was very unlikely she would survive.
‘We saw a couple of specialists and were told there was nothing they could do.’
Mrs Struthers-Gardner’s life support was switched off, and she died the next day.
The inquest heard she had suffered with mobility difficulties following a horse riding accident when she was 21-years-old.
Following a reduction in her high levels of fentanyl pain medication, she had become alcohol dependent.
Mandy Struthers-Gardner leaves the inquest
In the months leading up to her death, she had been drinking around half a litre of vodka a day, mixed with orange juice, from the mason jar cup, using the metal straws which were a birthday gift.
Due to severe pain from her riding accident, which caused multiple fracutres to Mrs Struthers-Gardner’s lumbar spine and caused scoliosis, she was prone to falling over, collapsing ‘like a sack of potatoes’ at random intervals, her wife added.
Dr David Parham, who carried out her post-mortem examination, said the cause of death was a traumatic brain injury, after the straw pierced ‘through her left eyelid and left eyeball’.
Detective Inspector Wayne Seymour, who carried out an investigation into the death after Bournemouth police were called by the hospital, said the case was very unusual.
He said: ‘Medical staff had never seen an injury like that. They said it was unusual more than anything else.’
Reading a statement to the inquest, Robin Struthers, Mrs Struthers-Gardner’s brother, called for the coroner to comment on how easy it is to purchase metal straws, adding: ‘These straws can very easily be lethal.’
Mandy Struthers-Gardner added: ‘I just feel that in the hands of mobility challenged people like Elena, or children, or even able-bodied people losing their footing, these things are so long and very strong.
‘Even if they don’t end a life they can be very dangerous.’
Recording a conclusion of accidental death, assistant coroner Brendan Allen said: ‘There is insufficient evidence to explain how Lena came to fall.
Today a coroner said metal drinking straws should never be used with a lid that fixes them in place, and warned that ‘great care should be taken’ while using them (stock image)
‘It does not allow me to conclude that any reduction in fentanyl cause Lena’s fall.
‘There was no alcohol present in the urine sample so intoxication did not contribute to the fall.’
He added: ‘Clearly great care should be taken taken when using these metal straws.
‘There is no give in them at all. If someone does fall on one and it’s pointed in the wrong direction, serious injury can occur.
‘It seems to me these metal straw should not be used with any form of lid that holds them in place.
‘It seems the main problem here is if the lid hadn’t been in place the straw would have moved away.’
Speaking after the inquest, Mandy Struthers-Gardner said: ‘I miss her very much, she was taken far too early.
‘I hope this never happens to anyone else.’
