Girl dies after being hit by a car on busy A-road the same day she was released from hospital after attempting to commit suicide
The 18-year-old had twice taken an overdose before her death
A TEEN girl died when she was struck down by a car - the same day she was released from hospital after attempting suicide.
Tragic Mara Leticia Nunes, 18, was hit by the vehicle on a busy A-road in Kent, a court heard.
Mara, who had lived in foster care during her teens, had trice tried to commit sucide by taking an overdose.
"On the day she was released from hospital she was struck down by a car.
"At this stage I won't say if she took her own life because I don't know."
Mara has been described as "one of a kind" by her friends, and was living independently after five years with a foster family in the village of Tilmanstone, Kent.
Her pre-inquest review took place at Canterbury Magistrates' Court on April 6, more than a year after her death on January 10 last year.
Kay Learmond, representing the Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT), said the inquest would determine if there had been a real and immediate risk to the life of a vulnerable person when she left hospital.
The court heard she was not an in-patient and and was not under state detention.
Ms Learmond told how Mara had been taken-in by a crisis team after a one-off assessment.
She added: “I won’t argue that Mara was a vulnerable person.”
The coroner heard how the teen suffered from mental health issues and had been under Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Dover before she turned 18.
Text messages between Mara and her support worker Kylie Brown will be released at the inquest and are believed to reveal her state of mind.
Facebook posts made by the teen will also be revealed to the court.
Mara was originally from Guernsey in the Channel Islands and her family still live overseas.
Guernsey Social Services were still responsible for her foster care when she came to England, and have launched a serious case review overseen by the Island Child Protection Committee.
Coronor Mr Blunsdon told how her care worker visited her on January 6 just after a second overdose attempt.
He said: “Mara didn’t want to talk about it and said she had a slip.”
The full inquest into Mara's death is expected to be held this year.
A flower box marks the location where Mara was struck down and killed on the A258 in Kent.