THE driver who caused the death of former Widnes rugby star John Stankevitch’s mum had suffered an epileptic seizure at the wheel, an inquest in Warrington heard today.

Cathie Stankevitch, 54, and her husband Kevin, 57, were walking their new puppies along Hough Green Road on Sunday, September 27 2015 when a Citreon Berlingo van suddenly mounted the pavement behind them.

Kevin told the inquest they were only 200 metres from home on Whernside where they planned to listen to the Vikings rugby match when the collision happened, shortly after 2.30pm.

“The next moment I was up in the air and landed on the grass verge,” said the chemical supervisor.

“I tried to get up a couple of times to go over to Cathie. I was just battered.”

The mum-of-two, who worked as a catering assistant and was ‘devoted to her family’, died later that afternoon at Aintree Hospital.

Witnesses described seeing a silver van swerve along the road and mount the grass verge, travelling at around 25-30mph.

After hitting the couple, the out of control vehicle collided with a pedestrian bollard and struck a lamppost.

Bus driver Alan Pickering, of Avondale Drive, said: “I never had time to sound my horn, it all happened so quickly.”

Driver Christopher Melvin was found slumped semi-conscious at the wheel.

The sales office manager was not well enough to attend the hearing.

In a document read by the coroner, the inquest heard he suffered his first seizure in May 2013.

After undergoing brain surgery on October 27, 2014, he had a second seizure the following day.

He had voluntarily stopped driving in 2013.

After the operation was declared a success, he was given the all clear to re-apply for his licence by his neurological surgeon in July 2015.

Mr Melvin said he had no recollection of the collision.

In a statement he said: “I wish to express my sincere and heartfelt sympathy to the Stankevitch family for what has happened.”

Police collision investigator Michael Badley found extensive evidence to support what witnesses had described.

Assistant coroner for Cheshire Dr Janet Napier recorded that Mrs Stankevitch died from multiple injuries caused by a road traffic collision.

“It is a horrifying thing,” she said. “He (Mr Melvin) had medical problems which had been successfully treated.

“He was driving perfectly legitimately with no inkling that this tragedy could happen.”