Mother, 34, who became heroin addict after she survived car crash which killed three of her friends nine years ago died from sepsis caused by long-term drug use, inquest hears

• Stacey Haslam was the sole survivor of a crash that left three of her friends dead
• The ‘wonderful’ 34-year-old from Bolton could not overcome a drug addiction 
• She died from sepsis after prolonged heroin use created an abscess on her leg 
• Coroner says mother-of-two’s ‘life was destroyed by her lifestyle’ after 2011 crash

The sole survivor of a crash that killed three of her friends died after the trauma of the accident left her battling drug addiction and depression.

Mother-of-two Stacey Haslam, 34, suffered serious injuries when her friend’s car smashed into a lamppost and flipped over on the A666 in Darwen, Lancashire, in October 2011.

A coroner has heard the crash had a long term impact on Stacey’s life as she went on to develop an addiction to crack cocaine and heroin.

In July of this year, she was admitted to the Royal Bolton Hospital with a leg abscess, thought to have developed from prolonged heroin abuse. 

She died three days later after developing sepsis. 

Area Coroner Alan Walsh described Stacey as a ‘good mother,’ whose ‘life was destroyed by her lifestyle’.

Stacey Haslam, 34, has died nine years after surviving a horrific crash that claimed the lives of three of her friends. The mother-of-two’s life was ‘destroyed’ by her lifestyle, a coroner said, after hearing how she was unable to beat addiction to heroin and crack cocaine after the crash

Helen Openshaw, 38 died at the scene of the horrific crash in 2011, while Roy O’Brien, 33, and Lee Amos, 39, died shortly afterwards in hospital. 

Stacey’s mother, Mandy Haslam, had told the coroner’s court how her daughter struggled with addiction and depression following the tragic deaths.

She said her daughter was complaining about contact leg pain on July 4, but initially refused to go to the hospital.

Stacey was eventually admitted on July 6, suffering with swelling around her leg and symptoms of sepsis.

Paul Harris, a consultant surgeon at the Royal Bolton Hospital, said staff had tried to treat the infection with antibiotics and had to repeatedly resuscitate her.

However, Stacey gradually stopped responding to treatment before suffering multiple organ failure. 

She was pronounced dead in hospital on July 9.

A post-mortem examination found that her death had been caused by septicaemia brought on by an abscess in her leg which in turn was the result of repeatedly injecting drugs.

The inquest heard that Stacey had been sent to Bolton’s drug and alcohol recovery service ACHIEVE but had not been able to overcome her addiction.

Bolton Coroner’s Court recorded a conclusion of a drug-related death in the case of Stacey Haslam, who had a 17-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter

Mrs Haslam said her daughter was ‘wonderful’ and would be missed by her 17-year-old son and her own 13-year-old daughter 

But, she said Stacey had struggled to deal with the consequences of her actions and had not been able to change her lifestyle after the fatal crash.

In his conclusion, the coroner said: ‘She was a young lady with children who had been, in the words of her family, a good daughter, a good mother and someone whose life was destroyed by her lifestyle.

‘That had developed following a very serious road traffic collision when she sustained very serious injuries and was the only survivor.’

He recorded a conclusion of drug-related death.

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