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BBC presenter died of infection after Vancouver car crash, coroner rules
A longtime BBC radio presenter who died in Vancouver last summer after a car crash succumbed to peritonitis, an infection from abdominal injuries she suffered in the crash, a British coroner has determined.
Lynda Shahwan, 53, was on holiday in Canada last July with her husband and two sons when their car was involved in a collision and overturned, British media reported at the time.
Shahwan, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was taken to Lions Gate Hospital in Vancouver after the July 15 crash and treated for a fractured rib, abdominal bruising and pneumothorax (a collapsed lung), the Liverpool Echo reported.
She was discharged the following day but was not fit to fly due to abdominal bruising. Her family flew home on July 18, while Shahwan stayed behind and planned to continue her recovery in Vancouver.
However, her family was unable to reach her the next day and called Canadian authorities, who found her body in the holiday apartment where she was staying.
An inquest began this week at the Coroner’s Court in Pontypridd, Wales. Shahwan had lived in nearby Cardiff and had worked for BBC Radio Wales for more than 25 years.
According to news reports, Coroner Graeme Hughes declared that: “Post-mortem examination determined that she had developed an infection in her abdomen (peritonitis) , likely a consequence of injuries sustained in the collision.”
Peritonitis is a serious condition that happens when the thin layer of tissue inside the abdomen, called the peritoneum, becomes inflamed. It can be treated by antibiotics but may also require surgery. Without treatment, peritonitis can lead to a serious infection that spreads through the body. It can also lead to death.
Hughes concluded the death arose from “infective complications of injuries sustained as a consequence of a road traffic collision.”
A veteran journalist, Shahwan had co-hosted a popular gardening podcast called Plotcast , alongside Terry Walton.
“My last two years of working with Lynda on the Plotcast were the most fulfilling and cherished broadcasting I have done,” Walton said at the time . “Our chemistry and her creative talent made every episode a gem of gardening knowledge. Such fun whilst still being very informative.”
He added: “Her professionalism and easy going manner made every recording a pleasure and brought the best out of us both. We became true friends and after recording we would both relax and discuss many aspects of life.”
Carolyn Hitt, head of BBC Radio Wales, called Shahwan: “a very special person.”
“Since she began her career with Radio Wales in 1999 she made a brilliant impact on the station, on and off air, working across almost all of our output,” Hitt said. “For several years, Lynda was Roy Noble’s fellow presenter on his morning show, where he affectionately christened her ‘The Lily from Caerphilly,'” a reference to the Welsh town where Shahwan was born in 1971.
Hitt added: “We are all devastated at Radio Wales at the sudden loss of our much-loved colleague and friend and our hearts go out to Lynda’s husband Sharif — who is also a much-loved colleague — their two sons and all their family and friends.”
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