The exact cause of a horrific head-on car crash that killed a six-year-old girl and seriously injured her mother may never be known, an inquest heard yesterday (Tuesday).

Sophie Page died near her Maple Cross home on Saturday, June 27, when the yellow Renault Megane car she was travelling in veered suddenly across the road and hit a Mercedes people carrier.

Her mother, Lenka, who was driving, was airlifted to hospital and continues to receive treatment for the serious injuries she sustained.

Eye witnesses, including the driver of the Mercedes, told Hatfield Coroner’s Court how Mrs Page’s car had veered “abruptly” to the wrong side of the A412 Denham Way before the collision.

Each then described in harrowing details the minutes after the crash, as they attempted to save the life of the gravely injured little girl.

Witness Luke Holton, who had been visiting his girlfriend at the time, also described how he had been forced to prevent one witness from filming the scene with a video camera.

Coroner Edward Thomas praised each of them for their efforts but said there was nothing anybody could have done to save Sophie – who had been sleeping at the time of the crash.

Expert police witnesses said the weather conditions had been good in the minutes before the crash (although a heavy rain storm arrived soon after) and that both cars were in good working order.

They also ruled out the possibility that Mrs Page had fallen asleep, been on the phone or had been distracted by anything outside of the car.

Forensic collision investigator PC Ian Marsh also said Mrs Page had not been speeding, based on computer modelling undertaken after the crash.

The only other credible explanation, PC Marsh suggested, was that Mrs Page had lost consciousness at the wheel – a tragic reoccurrence of a fainting episode three years previously.

The court heard that she had undergone medical tests at the time but no underlying medical condition had been found. She has since volunteered to further tests to refute or confirm this theory.

Mr Thomas said the exact cause of the crash may never be known. The death of a “lovely little girl who loved the colour pink and Winnie The Pooh,” he ruled, resulted from a tragic accident.

He told Sophie’s parents: “Nothing that I can say can take away how awful this is but I do say to you how sorry I am for what happened. She was a lovely little girl. Everything that I have read about her says she was a great credit to you as parents and a joy to everyone who knew her.”

Father Richard Page, of Oakhill Road, paid tribute to his daughter after the crash.

He said: “She worshipped her mummy and daddy so much and she will be sorely missed. Words cannot describe how we are all feeling - we are devastated.”