THE mother of a 17-year-old girl who died in a collision on the M5 earlier this month has paid tribute to her "beautiful daughter", as an inquest into her death opened on Tuesday.

Tamzin Hall, from Henlade, Taunton, died after exiting a stationary police vehicle that had been travelling towards Bridgwater on the M5 motorway, on Monday, November 11.

Her "devastated" mother Amy Hall said Tamzin had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and described her as her "best friend" and "the most kindest, caring, loving, loyal girl ever".

Read More: 

Amy said: "She was the most honest person I’ve ever known; she was very special to me. She had a great sense of humour, and we had many laughs together.

"She was my shadow from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning until she went to sleep at night. She was such an intelligent young girl and had such interesting perceptions on things in life."

Tamzin's mother added that her daughter's autism spectrum disorder diagnosis meant she "was unique and saw the world in such a different way".

The mother added: "Tamzin was my absolute everything and I can’t believe she isn’t here anymore. She was my world. She put her all into absolutely everything. She loved helping out as a young child, if you set her a task, she would put her all into it and want it just right.

"She was always so thoughtful and would put others before herself. She loved the simple things in life, talking and her family. Plus, she absolutely loved chocolate – she was chocolate mad!"

Samantha Marsh, senior coroner for Somerset, opened the inquest at Wells Town Hall, in Wells, on Tuesday, November 26, expressing her sincerest condolences to Tamzin’s family.

The pre-inquest review will be held on November 5, 2025, which Mrs Marsh explained was the “earliest date available” owing to the complexity and expected length of the inquest, which will be seen by a jury – as is required due to Tamzin being in state attention at the time of her death.

Ben Batley, coroner’s officer for Somerset, told the court the broad circumstances of Tamzin’s death, telling how Tamzin left the police vehicle on the M5 Northbound carriageway between junctions 25 at Taunton and 24 at Bridgwater, at the 203.5 marker post, and sustained “unsurvivable injuries”.

Mr Batley told the court: “For reasons yet to be established, Tamzin left the police car, climbing the barrier, and colliding with a vehicle on the Southbound carriageway.”

The court heard how a Home Office forensic postmortem found Tamzin’s cause of death to be “head, neck, and chest injuries, pending laboratory investigations”. The coroner confirmed that Tamzin’s body had been released back to the family.

He added: "Police and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) inquiries are ongoing as to the circumstances of the collision and how Tamzin came to be where she was found.”

Interested persons set to attend the inquest include Tamzin’s immediate family, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), Avon and Somerset Police, and the driver of the vehicle that collided with Tamzin.

Tamzin's mother Amy said that "life will never be the same", and that she was "using my strength for my other children, Tamzin's siblings."

Amy added: "Tamzin was such a wonderful daughter. She was a beautiful person.

"She was only 17 but she has taught me a lot and I can use that memory and hold on to that. I will never ever get over it, she was taken far too young."