Primary school teacher, 23, died after being hit by a car during night out in Mexico
Alix Bussey died in horror smash on luxury getaway
A PRIMARY school teacher was killed in a hit and run horror smash while on a luxury holiday in Mexico.
Alix Bussey, 23, died from serious spinal injuries after being run over on the penultimate day of her trip with boyfriend Jonathan Boyle.
The tragedy turned the ten-night dream break into a nightmare.
It had been the couple's first holiday abroad and only the night before Miss Bussey texted her younger sister saying she was having "the bestest time ever".
The couple spent the evening at the Coco Bongo nightclub in Cancun –about 21 miles from their beachside hotel - on April 9 last year.
What happened between them leaving the club and being found on the road is a mystery.
Mr Boyle was uninjured but says he can't remember anything about the incident.
Police were called to the scene of the incident about nine miles from the club at 5.15am next morning where they found the former Bowburn Infants School teacher fatally injured.
The County Durham and Darlington Coroners’ Office demanded information from the Mexican authorities while the her family carried out their own research into her death.
There are still many unanswered questions, including how the couple covered the nine miles from the club after missing the 3am bus and what happened to their valuables such as watches, iphones, cash, Miss Bussey’s handbag and ID, which were never found.
Other questions include why a witness appeal appears never to have been made by police, why the serial number on a windscreen wiper at the scene was not used to try to trace the vehicle and why CCTV was not properly checked.
Mr Boyle, an IT worker for the NHS, told the Crook inquest the couple had seats on a bus to take them back to the Azul Sensatori Hotel but he can't remember why they failed to catch it.
They had been out for a meal and each enjoyed a beer before heading to the nightclub where they drank vodka and lemonades.
It was an all-inclusive package so they only took money in Miss Bussey’s handbag in case they needed a taxi.
Mr Boyle, of Langley Moor, Durham, said: “We have obviously got some form of transport to be there but I don’t remember.
RELATED STORIES
“We must have got a lift or a taxi. The first thing I remember is being woken up at the side of the road. It was a police officer patting my leg.
“I was told Alix had been hit by a car while crossing the road.”
Mr Boyle was found uninjured at the side of the road.
Only one of her earrings and a belly button ring was found. The couple’s valuables, including a necklace Miss Bussey’s mother Penny said her daughter would have been wearing, were never found.
Mr Boyle, who had known her for about two years, said it was possible she might have left her handbag at he club but this did not explain the missing watches.
Miss Bussey’s father Colin said the family had visited the scene to try and understand for themselves what had happened but felt they still needed an explanation as to why some lines of enquiry were never carried out by the Mexican police.
He told senior assistant coroner for County Durham, Crispin Oliver, that the Mexican investigation should have included interviewing the nightclub staff as well as looking at the CCTV covering the club entrance.
He added that the police report handed to the coroner did not make clear whether a witness appeal was ever carried out and why there was no real effort to find the vehicle involved.
Recording a conclusion that Miss Bussey, was struck or run over by a motor vehicle or motor vehicles, Mr Oliver said: “All we really know is Alix was killed in an incident at a place which she wouldn’t normally have been for reasons we don’t know.”
The many unanswered questions surrounding the death of primary school teacher Alix Bussey, 23, in Mexico
• How did the couple cover the nine miles from the club after missing the 3am bus?
• What happened to their valuables – watches, iphones, cash, Miss Bussey’s handbag and identification – which were never found?
• Why was a witness appeal never made by police?
• Why was the serial number on a windscreen wiper at the scene not used to try to trace the vehicle involved?
• Why, if CCTV covering the scene was down for maintenance between 3am and 7am that morning, were other cameras in the area were not checked?
Addressing the couple’s families, he added: “Obviously we do the best we can in cases like these. I thank you all for being here and the care and attention you have provided in the investigation.
“You all have my condolences. I hope now you can get a degree of closure.”
Miss Bussey, who lived with her family in Meadowfield, near Durham, was a former Durham Johnston School pupil and had taught at Bowburn Infants School since 2012 after earlier graduating from Northumbria University.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368.