Shelley Hallam has been named as the victim of the crash on April 8 involving a silver Honda Jazz and a red Mini Cooper.

The 60-year-old was a passenger of the Mini Cooper, being driven by a 59-year-old man and joined by another man, aged 28, who was sat in the rear seat.

Both suffered injuries described by police as minor and have since been discharged from hospital.

Shelley Hallam (Image: Family handout)

However, Ms Hallam died of her injuries six days later while in hospital on April 14, police said on Thursday afternoon.

Her family said in a statement issued via Thames Valley Police: “We are all completely in shock at the sudden passing of Shelley.

“She was the most kind and amazing wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She was courageous and strong, and always thought of others before herself.

“She was inspirational and had such a positive impact on everyone whose life she touched, however fleetingly.

READ MORE: Woman dies after serious crash as arrest made

“There are no words that can describe the loss we all feel and she will be desperately missed.”

“Her family are being supported by specially trained officers,” Thames Valley Police’s spokesman said.

The crash happened at the junction of Rye Hill and Tadmarton Road in Wigginton Heath, between Chipping Norton and Banbury.

A woman in her 20s from Chipping Norton has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and driving a motor vehicle otherwise in accordance with a licence. She has been released on police bail.

Emergency services, including South Central Ambulance Service and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, attended the scene.

The road was initially closed to enable emergency treatment and recovery, and officers later re-attended on April 15 to carry out further specialist investigative work.

The road was closed for several hours during this time.

Investigating officer detective constable Melissa Wells, of Thames Valley Police’s serious collision investigation unit, urged witnesses to get in touch to help with the investigation.

She said: “This is a tragic incident in which a woman has sadly lost her life. Our thoughts remain with her family at this incredibly difficult time.

“We are continuing to carry out a full and thorough investigation to establish the circumstances of the collision, and we are asking anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or who saw either vehicle in the moments leading up to it, to please come forward.”

Anybody who witnessed the collision or who was driving in the area at around 6.50pm on April 8 and may have dash-cam footage is urged to contact Thames Valley Police either by reporting online or by calling 101, quoting reference 43260170542.

St Hugh’s School, a co-educational day school and boarding school for pupils aged three to 13, is located at Carswell Manor.

The independent school will welcome its first cohort of Year 9 pupils in September 2026, with the first group of GCSE pupils completing their studies in 2029.

READ MORE: Private prep school announces land purchase

The opening of the senior school follows the purchase of nearly 20 acres of land next to the existing site.

The newly acquired land will play a central role in the school’s strategic vision for the next five to 10 years.

St Hugh’s School (Image: St Hugh’s School)

St Hugh’s has been working closely with architects to shape a comprehensive development plan, including a new dining room, enhanced teaching spaces, and expanded facilities for the pre-prep, prep, and the new senior school which formally opens in June this year.

There is an open morning for prospective parents and pupils on Friday, May 8, and places at the senior school are now being advertised.

Pupils at St Hugh’s School (Image: St Hugh’s School)

Headmaster David Griffiths said earlier in his letter to parents that the land purchase “will almost double the size of the school’s usable open area” and represented “a bold statement of ambition from the governing body” as the school looks ahead to the next decade of growth.

The plan to create the new senior school was first announced last year.

Mr Griffiths said at the time: “This is an incredibly exciting step for St Hugh’s.

“”We are building on our strong foundation as a prep school while responding to the clear need for excellent senior education options locally.

“Our new senior school will offer the same nurturing environment, high academic standards, and family-focused ethos that our school community values so deeply.”

The decision to expand followed a long-term review of the educational landscape and growing demand for academically ambitious, co-educational day schooling with strong pastoral care.

The school said it will retain its “family-friendly atmosphere” without “rapid or excessive growth” in pupil numbers.

A detailed overview of the expansion is included in the school’s Strategy 120 booklet.

The additional land will allow for new activities on-site such as clay ‘pigeon’ shooting, and another exciting development is the creation of a new school farm.

This initiative will significantly expand outdoor education provision, particularly for younger pupils, with plans to involve children and local farming families in shaping the project.

The school has thanked the alumni whose generosity made the land purchase possible, as well as the Woodgate family, the land’s vendors, for their support.

Originally founded as a small boys’ boarding school near London, St Hugh’s then evolved into a co-educational preparatory school.

PC Andrew Harper, from Wallingford, died aged 28, when he was dragged for a mile by a tow rope loop on a fleeing car, after confronting quad bike thieves in a country lane near Sulhamstead in Berkshire, in 2019.

Three teenagers were handed custodial sentences of between 13 and 16 years for manslaughter.

Dressed in their ceremonial tunics and dress cap, representatives of national police associations joined PC Harper’s friends, local councillors and his widow Lissie, at a private ceremony in Reading Town Hall, ahead of the plaque’s unveiling at Forbury Gardens.

They were joined by Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg and Geraldine Winner, the widow of the late filmmaker who founded the Police Memorial Trust.

Mrs Harper, who was married just 28 days before his death, said in a speech: “He was proud to serve as a police officer, but to me, he was so much more.

“He was my partner, my strength, and my first love.

“He had a kind heart, a steady presence, and a quiet courage that shaped the way he lived every single day.

“In 2019, our lives changed forever.

“The world lost a hero, but I lost the person I was meant to grow old with.”

Andrew Harper’s widow Lissie Harper lays a wreath at a memorial stone in Reading, dedicated to the memory of Police Constable Andrew Harper of Thames Valley Police. The officer was just 28 years old when he was killed in 2019 while responding to an (Image: Andrew Matthews)

She added: “I hope that those who walk these streets will take a moment to pause, to pay their respects, and to know that he made our world a safer place.”

The stone, which is the trust’s 61st memorial, is a 4ft tribute opposite Reading Crown Court, carved mainly in Portland Stone accompanied by gold lettering.

His family’s unwavering campaign following his death led to the introduction of ‘Harper’s Law’, which led to mandatory life sentences for people who kill emergency workers while on duty.

At midday on April 23, police officers, campaigners and those who knew PC Harper stood in a line at Forbury Gardens, before laying floral wreaths and pausing to remember him in front of the plaque, unveiled by Lissie Harper and Mrs Michael Winner.

Chief Constable Jason Hogg told The Chronicle PC Harper was an ‘inspiration’.

He said: “Andrew just got married. He had his life ahead of him.

“He was incredibly enthusiastic, hard working, committed officer and he loved his job.

“His legacy is an inspiration to officers joining his sense of courage and commitment to the public service but also, he is a reminder of the danger police officers put themselves in.

“Every single day, when they’re responding to routine incidents, this acts as a sober reminder for us all of the difficult and challenging job policing is and the sacrifices people make.

“We’re celebrating Andrew’s life and his service but we are also reflecting on the important role police officers face and the danger that they put themselves in, potentially every day.”

PC Andrew Harper (Image: Oxford Mail)

Mrs Michael Winner who chairs the Police Memorial Trust, said Reading ‘must not forget’ what PC Harper did for the public.

She said: “I hope his presence will be with us today.

“[When he died], it was just dreadful. My husband started the memorial trust and when he died, I carried it on.

“We had to form a special group of people to do everything and get permission and we managed to carry it on.

“When I met Mrs Harper, I just cried because it was so dreadful. She was so brave and she managed to get that law passed,

“[The teenagers involved] drove for miles, with him dragging along behind.

“We need this so people won’t ever forget PC Harper. He was courageous and wonderful.”

PC Harper was responding to a report of a burglary and the theft of a quad bike on August15, 2019.

As he tried to stop the group, he became caught in a tow rope and was dragged for a mile along a country lane – he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Henry Long, 19, was in the driving seat with passengers’ 17-year-olds Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole.