Woman, 35, Crushed to Death After Van Rolls Over Her, Pins Her Underneath

A British woman died after being crushed by her van while traveling in Australia, according to an inquest hearing into her death.

Eleanor Thompson, 35, was found dead underneath her campervan in Burringbar, New South Wales, on March 11. She died from multiple injuries after her van “rolled off a driveway and slid down an incline,” pinning her underneath, U.K. newspaper The Independent and the BBC reported. 

Eleanor visited Australia in 2023 and was living in her van at the time. She worked in a pub in Mullumbimby and had been house-sitting for a friend at the time of the incident, according to the outlets.

After failing to show up for her shift on March 10, Eleanor’s two friends went to the property to look for her. They found her van 65 feet away from the house “wedged into overgrown vegetation,” with Eleanor’s body underneath the vehicle, per the BBC. 

Eleanor last texted her mother, Amanda Thompson, just before midday on March 8. No one reported seeing or speaking to her after 1 p.m. local time that same day, a court heard.

At the time of her death, cyclone storm Alfred had swept through New South Wales following a storm which started in the region on Feb. 22, per The Independent. The weather is not believed to have been connected to the incident, per the BBC.

A post-mortem examination determined that Eleanor died from multiple injuries in the incident, including broken ribs. Her death was ruled an accident, according to the outlets.

A coroner’s office in Australia initially determined Eleanor’s cause of death as “misadventure.” The inquest heard that It is impossible to determine whether her van’s handbrake had been applied or left off before rolling down, per the BBC.

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Peter Thompson, Eleanor’s father, said at the inquest that after visiting the site, there was an “unanswered element” as to why his daughter was “in front of her vehicle when it rolled forwards” and believes that she actually died on March 8, per The Independent.

“Ellie knew people were concerned; she knew I would be concerned,” he said. “I would definitely have had a text on Sunday, because in the text on Saturday, she promised she would be in touch the next day.”

Eleanor’s family described her as an “adventurous spirit” who had a “kindness, openness and generosity of spirit,” per the BBC.

PEOPLE has reached out to the Denbighshire Coroner’s Court for comment, but didn’t immediately receive a response.