Clara Heyworth was killed by a car as she crossed the road on an evening out with her husband.

And for the last four years her family's grief has been added to by having to battle with authorities who should have been on their side.

In the UK we see police tape go up around a crash scene immediately and the area being cordoned off for several hours.

Drones would be dispatched to gather pictures from the scene, skid marks mapped out, CCTV and witness appeals taken.

Yet on the streets of New York that evening in July 2011, none of that seems to have happened for the 28-year-old from Lewes.

Four years later, Clara's family including her beloved mother and husband have the lingering, bitter taste that justice has not been done.

This week an inquest was also stymied by information sent from the US that went little beyond the facts recorded by arresting officers. There was no formal statement from any authority.

Yet the coroner did include in his conclusion the driver’s recent admission that he was unlicensed, had been drinking and was responsible for her death. Which leaves the family wondering: Why couldn’t America get that far?

What also emerged from the inquest was the bewildering interactions between Clara’s mother and the New York police. She feels her daughter was treated with “disdain” and, on the face of it, it is hard to disagree.

It has been hard for her to sway authorities in a foreign nation. Clara's husband, still in New York, has done his best to highlight the issue over there. Perhaps our foreign office could do more to help.

Clara, her family, and all victims of road traffic accidents, deserve much, much better.